


THE KINGDOM OF BEACON HILLS

by unclescar



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, BAMF Stiles, M/M, Magic Stiles, magic Lydia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-03
Updated: 2014-04-04
Packaged: 2018-01-18 02:25:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 33,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1411486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unclescar/pseuds/unclescar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>High on top of a hill, surrounded by lush forest, sat Hale Castle.  The kingdom was always a happy place, the subjects very devoted to the royal family.  During times when others threatened the kingdom, all villagers were brought into the safety of the castle walls and they would fight with the soldiers to defend the castle and protect the royal family. <br/>Lately however, something hasn’t been right and everybody could sense it, something was going on up at the castle but nobody in the villages knew what and nobody from the castle was talking.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I posted this as 8 chapters originally, then started to add to it but then pulled it because i couldn't finish it. It is now complete and i hope you enjoy it.

**THE KINGDOM OF BEACON HILLS**

**CHAPTER 1**

High on top of a hill, surrounded by lush forest, sat Hale Castle.  The kingdom was always a happy place, the subjects very devoted to the royal family.  During times when others threatened the kingdom, all villagers were brought into the safety of the castle walls and they would fight with the soldiers to defend the castle and protect the royal family.

Lately however, something hasn’t been right and everybody could sense it, something was going on up at the castle but nobody in the villages knew what and nobody from the castle was talking. 

 

**3 YEARS PRIOR**

“You wanted to see me father?” Prince Derek asked as he entered his parent’s chambers.

“Yes Derek there is something I need to talk to you about; I want you to go to the Kingdom of Portland. We’ve always gotten along well and they have been a great ally to us and Princess Vanessa is getting married so I would you like you to go to represent us.”

“Ok but why don’t you and mother go?”

“Because my son it’s time you and your sister start learning about diplomatic missions like this and before you ask your sister is going to the kingdom of Francisco” the King said with a smile.

“Ok so when do I leave?”

“You’ll leave next Thursday and the wedding is on Saturday.  I want you to go down to Malins Tailor Shop and get something new to wear on your trip as well as to the wedding.”

“Yes father I’ll head down now.”

***

 

Prince Derek was walking through the village with some friends when he ran into and knocked down a skinny young kid causing him to fall into a puddle of water.

“Watch where you’re going” Prince Derek said.

“I was standing still you ran into me you clod so you watch where you’re going” the young guy said.

“Do you have any idea who I am?”

“Yes you’re the big clod that just ran into me and knocked me down.”

“This is Prince Derek Hale so mind your tongue or I’ll pull it out” one of Derek’s friends said.

“Oh excuse me I’m sorry that means you’re the ROYAL clod that just ran into me and knocked me down.”

Derek put his arms out to stop his friends from advancing on the guy and he just looked at this person, he found it interesting that this young man didn’t seem impressed or intimidated by who he was.

“Come on guys I’ve got things to do” he said to his friends and they left.

***

Prince Derek was just getting ready to head down to the dining room to have dinner when there was a knock on his chamber door, “come in” he said and looked up to see his father coming in and he wasn’t alone.

“Son, this is Stiles he’s your new manservant” the king said and Derek and Stiles just looked at each other.

“Stiles this is my son Prince Derek.”

“Yes we met earlier in the village, so nice to see you again Sire” Stiles said pleasantly.

“Oh good well I wanted to explain Stiles’ job duties with you present Derek, in case there was anything you wanted to add.  Now Stiles what you will do is go to the kitchen in the morning and get Derek’s breakfast and bring it to him here in his chamber.  Open the curtains and windows, get his clothes for the day and make sure he gets up.  You’ll be responsible for cleaning his room and his clothes and that includes polishing all his shoes and boots as well as his armor and weapons and just be available to him at any time.   Derek is there anything else you can think of?”

“Not that I can think of father, I’ve never had a manservant before.”

“This is true, Stiles do you understand everything?”

“Yes Your Majesty.”

“Good then you can get started by cleaning Derek’s room, come Derek dinner is ready.” Derek made sure to bump Stiles hard with his shoulder as he walked passed him, following his father out of the room.

Two hours later Derek returned to his room and stopped dead when he walked in the door.  All the wood in the room was shining; his bed was made with fresh clean sheets even his armor was shining.  He had intended to make things difficult for Stiles when he returned, just for fun, but he had to admit he was very impressed with what Stiles did while he was at dinner.

Over the next few days Stiles would bring Prince Derek his breakfast, open up his room and wake him up and then leave without saying much and Derek was always disappointed, he wanted Stiles to stay and talk to him, keep him company but it didn’t seem like it was going to happen.

“Stiles wait” Derek said one morning.

“Yes Sire?”

“Why do you do that, you come in here wake me up and then leave.”

“It’s my job Sire and if I didn’t wake you your breakfast would get cold.”

“I realize that but why don’t you stay for a bit?”

“Certainly Sire, is there something you need me to do?”

Derek just looked at him for a moment and then got out of bed and put his robe on, “no Stiles just forget it” he said angrily. Stiles just bowed slightly and turned to leave.

“I don’t understand you” Derek finally said.

“I’m sorry Sire I don’t know what you mean?”

“The first day we met you called me a clod and then when you found out I was the Prince, then I was just a royal clod.   Then you had no problem speaking your mind and now you barely speak to me.”

“I wasn’t your servant then Sire and I don’t wish to lose my position or end up in the dungeons.”

“Stiles please can you just stay with me and talk to me?”

“Certainly Sire what would you like to talk about?” Derek realized it was hopeless, his hopes of being friends with Stiles just wasn’t going to happen.

“You know what Stiles, don’t worry about it I’ll be fine” Derek said and sat down to eat. Stiles again bowed and turned to leave but before he did, he looked back to see the Prince sitting there eating and realized how lonely he actually was and he felt bad for him.

Derek was about to pick up a piece of sausage from his plate when a hand appeared and took it and he looked up, “so what shall we talk about Sir Clod” Stiles said and Derek laughed.

***

Prince Derek was sitting in the grand hall eating and talking with other royals and members of court at the palace in Portland, they were having a celebration dinner following the wedding but soon all heads turned towards the doors as they could hear a commotion out in the hall.  It only took Derek a few minutes to recognize the voice of the man that was shouting about being let in and he stood up from the table.

“Excuse me” he said to the King and Queen and stepped outside the room, there he found two guards in the process of dragging Stiles away.

“You there hold up a minute” he said and the guards stopped.

“Stiles what are you doing here?”

“Excuse me Sire but do you know this man?”

“Yes he’s my servant. Stiles what are you doing here?”

“You need to come home Derek, something’s happened.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The castle was attacked, I and one of your father’s servants managed to escape.  He headed south to get Princess Laura and I came here to get you” Stiles said. Derek nodded to the guards who let Stiles go and then he turned and went back into the dining hall, “I’m sorry but something has happened at home and I must return” Derek said.

“What’s happened, is there anything we can do?” the King asked.

“That was my servant he came to get me, the castle has been attacked I must return.”

“Go son just go and if you need help please let us know” the King said as he hugged Derek and walked with him to escort him out, giving Derek and Stiles a carriage with the Kings fastest horses. When they returned to Hale Castle the devastation was evident but the worst part was when they pulled into the courtyard, lying on the ground were the bodies of the dead which included the King and Queen and all Derek could do was drop to his knees in shock.  Stiles stood by him, keeping a hand on his shoulder while the guards and knights brought in more dead and wounded.

“Any word on Princess Laura” Stiles asked Sir Isaac, one of Derek’s knights.

“No not yet” he said.

Just then a horse came into the courtyard and Stiles knew instantly it was not good news.  The man riding the horse was the other servant that escaped with him and he was barely able to stay on the horse.  Sir Isaac caught the man as he fell from the horse and Derek came running over.

“Sire, I’m sorry, we were attacked on our way here….the Princess didn’t make it” the man said before taking his last breath.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

**PRESENT DAY**

Sir Jackson was walking down the hall when the door to the Kings chambers opened, “I SAID GET OUT!” he heard the King shout as a servant girl came running out, a drinking goblet just missing her head. Jackson was stopped in his tracks by both the shouting and the smell that came out of the room, the servant just ran away crying.  Jackson picked up the goblet and looked into the room where King Derek was standing looking both angry yet sad.  “WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT!” he screamed but Jackson said nothing; he just bowed his head and gently closed the door. Jackson immediately went to the practice field, the now dented goblet still in his hand.

“Look at this” he said showing Scott, Isaac, Boyd and Danny the dented goblet.

“That’s one of the King’s goblets, where did you find it?”Scott asked.

“What happened to it?” Danny asked.

“I picked it up off the floor after it was thrown at the head of one of the chamber maids.  The poor girl came running out of the King’s room and this just missed her head and slammed into the wall.  You and Isaac have been here the longest Scott so you are not going to tell me you both don’t know something about what is happening to him?” Scott and Isaac looked at each other and both realized it was time to tell the others what they knew about the King and what caused his downfall into his present state.

“I need to find Stiles” Scott said.

“What does his former servant have to do with this?” Sir Boyd asked.

“Stiles was more than a servant to the King he was also a friend.  He was the only one around here who could get away with doing and saying things to the King that would put any of us in the dungeons.”

Scott went on to tell them all the story of how Prince Derek bumped into Stiles and knocked him down and how Stiles called him a clod and when he found out he was the Prince, then he called him a Royal clod which the others did find amusing.

“Stiles could call him Derek instead of addressing him as Sire or Your Majesty and the King wouldn’t even blink an eye.  The King was having a rough time adjusting to the fact that his family was gone and he was suddenly king and not ready but he had Stiles by his side.  Stiles always managed to tell him if he was doing something stupid or why a plan would or would not work but none of the other advisors would pay attention because he was just a servant so the King would confide in him when they were alone and discuss things.”

“So you’re saying that Stiles is the reason the King is acting this way?”

“I think it’s a big part of it yes.  Think about it, he really started to change after Stiles left and I think what made it worse was the way Stiles left.  He just up and vanished in the middle of the night, no reason, no indication he was planning on going at all he was just gone.”

“Well Scott you knew him better than the rest of us, did you not see it coming?  Do you know where he might have gone?” Sir Danny asked.

“No I had no idea, I was just as surprised as everybody else that he left but things are getting out of control and I need to go and find him.”

“I didn’t want to say anything unless I had more proof but the villagers are starting to talk, they sense something isn’t right up at the castle” said Sir Isaac.

“What does the gossip of some villagers have to do with anything?” Sir Jackson asked.

“If the villagers sense something isn’t right and they talk among each other, and if they have friends and family in other kingdoms and talk to them then soon word will spread far and wide and before we know it, we could be facing an onslaught” Sir Isaac explained.

***

It was early the following morning and Scott made his way to the stables so he could ride out and search for Stiles but he was surprised to find Isaac there waiting for him.

“What are you doing here at this hour?”

“Stopping you from making a mistake, here put these on” Isaac said as he tossed Scott clothes.

“What are these for?”

“I just don’t think you should go out looking for Stiles dressed like a knight, I think you’ll be better off if you look like a regular villager. So what’s your plan?”

“Right now I’m just going to look for him and if I find him then talk to him. I’ll try to find out why he left the way he did in the first place but if he doesn’t want to talk about it then I won’t push the issue.”

“How will you get him to come back?”

“I don’t know but I won’t force him to come back because he would probably leave again.”

Scott rode out heading east, he remembered Stiles once telling him that he lived on a farm with his father near the eastern border of the kingdom.  He passed through a small village and arrived at a farm just as the sun was starting to come up.

“Can I help you son” a man said and Scott knew he had to be Stiles’ father.

“Are you Mr. Stilinski?”

“Yes I am and who might you be?”

“My name is Scott, Scott McCall I’m a knight at Hale Castle.”

“Oh I’ve heard your name before; Stiles spoke very highly of you.”

“So he’s here then?” Scott asked getting excited.

“No I’m afraid not. He wasn’t here when the King sent a bunch of men here looking for him after he left the castle and he’s not here now.”

“Well do you know where I might be able to find him?  I don’t want to drag him back to the castle I just need to talk to him.”

“I didn’t raise my son to walk away from his responsibilities Scott so whatever happened must have been pretty serious for my son to take off like that.”

“How do you know the details of how he left?”

“One of the knights that came here looking for him told me, I think his name was Jack or something like that.”

“That would be Sir Jackson.  Look Mr. Stilinski I’m not wearing my normal clothes, I have no weapons I just need to talk to him.  The King hasn’t been the same since he left and I think he is the only one that can help.  I just want to talk to him so if you could try to think of where he might be and point me in the right direction that would be great.”

Stiles’ father stood there for a moment just looking at Scott and thinking.

“You’ll have to leave the horse here.  Right down the road there is a path through the woods, follow that and you’ll find him.”

“You mean he’s been living here the entire time?” Scott asked but was happy at the same time.

“No he knew the King would send people here to look for him so I don’t know where he was at first, he only showed up back here a couple of weeks ago.”

“Thank you Mr. Stilinski I really appreciate this” Scott said and then he started walking.  Scott eventually came to a clearing full of wild flowers and sitting in the middle, with the sun shining down on him was Stiles reading a book.  Just as he cleared the trees Stiles turned and saw him and jumped up with a look of fear on his face and a walking stick in his hand.

“I’m here alone Stiles” Scott said, hesitant to approach him with the stick in his hand.

“What are you doing here, how did you find me?”

“I remembered you telling me about your dad’s farm and took a chance. I came here looking for you but just to talk Stiles nothing else so can you put the stick down?”

Stiles looked and really hadn’t realized he was holding the stick up in the air, “oh sorry” he said as he put it down. “Why are you dressed like that?”

“Oh Sir Isaac thought it best I not go riding all over the place dressed as a Knight of Hale Castle.”

“Why not, you’re still within the border of the kingdom here.”

“But if I had to go beyond the border then it could have been a problem.  I also think that he thought you might not feel as threatened if I wasn’t dressed as a knight.”

“So you found me so now what?”

“I just want to talk Stiles, you and I have always gotten along and I consider you a friend so I just wanted see you and talk to you about what happened.”

“I don’t want to talk about that.”

“Stiles I’m not here to find out why you left, that is between you and the King I only came to tell you that ever since you left he has fallen apart.” 

“What do you mean he’s fallen apart?”

“He never leaves his room.  Yesterday Jackson was passing his room when a chamber maid came running out, the King screamed at her to get out and threw a goblet at her; it just missed hitting her in the head.  Jackson also said the smell that came out of the room was terrible; it seems since you left nobody has been able to get in there to clean or anything. Look Stiles I don’t care what happened that caused you to leave the way you did, it’s none of my business, in fact it’s nobody’s business but yours but the villagers are starting to sense something is wrong.  We fear that if they start to talk and word gets out that King Derek isn’t well then there could be another attack.”

“Scott what do you expect me to do about it, I’m just a servant or I was, I’m not anybody special.”

“I don’t agree Stiles; I think there is something about you that is why I left before dawn to look for you.  I think you are the only one that might be able to help the King but I won’t force you to return and I won’t tell anybody where you are I’ll just leave it up to you to decide.”

“I’m afraid to go back at this point.”

“Why?”

“Because I was the King’s manservant, you don’t walk away from a position like that Scott.  You are either in the job until you die or the King releases you.  I’m afraid if I go back he’ll toss me in the dungeons or execute me.”

“Stiles if you come back I will not let either of those things happen to you.  I’ll get you out of there before anybody knows what happened and if we both have to spend our lives on the run so be it.”

“You would do that for me; risk your life and career?”

“Yes Stiles I would because it wouldn’t be right if he did that.   Can I ask you one question though?”

“Sure what do you want to know?”

“I don’t want details but I just want to know did the King do or say something in particular that caused you to leave?”

“No he didn’t; it was my own choice because of something I couldn’t deal with.  He knew nothing and did nothing.”

“Well, look I’ll let you get back to your book; I really should be getting back to the castle.  Hopefully I’ll see you again back at the castle but if not well then I’m sure our paths will cross again.”

Before he left Stiles ran over to Scott and hugged him and thanked him for caring enough to look for him.

***

Later that night Stiles was sitting having dinner with his father, “so what did Scott have to say?” his father asked.

“He said the King hasn’t been the same since I left and they fear word will spread about him not being well and perhaps attack the castle.”

“I see and how do you play into this?”

“He seemed to think that I am the only person that could snap the King out of it and get him back on track. He said nobody really can get into his room to clean and apparently it smells.”

“So are you going to go back?”

“I don’t know, I told Scott I was afraid what would happen if I did go back.”

“What do you mean?”

“Dad when you are in the service of the royal family, especially the manservant of the Prince and now King, you don’t just walk away. You are either in that job until one of you dies or are released by the King. I told Scott I was afraid of being tossed in the dungeons or executed but he said he wouldn’t let that happen, he would get me out of there.”

“Scott sounds like a good man and a good friend.”

“He is dad; he is one of the few knights that actually took the time to get to know me.”

“So what are you going to do?”

“I’m going to go back I guess. I can’t worry about myself, not while Derek appears to be suffering.”

“Oh it’s Derek now, not King Derek” his father said with a slight smile.

“Well yea he never seemed to be bothered if I called him Derek. I don’t do it all the time and it’s better than what I first called him.”

“What did you call him before?”

“A clod well until I found out he was a Prince then he was a royal clod.”

Stiles couldn’t help but laugh at the look on his father’s face so he went into the explanation of the very first meeting that he and Derek had in the village and then they both laughed.

“Dad I never told anybody why I left in the first place, not even Scott when he was here but I want to tell you.”

“Ok I’m listening.”

“I left because I started looking at him differently, I started to feel something and it scared me so I left.”

“Son, he is the king and with no family left he will be expected to produce an heir to the throne and that is not something you will be able to provide. I’m sure he is well aware of this as well so if you go back and he doesn’t throw you in the dungeons or execute you, then you can enjoy the time you have with him until he gets married or always be his consort on the side.”

“Wait how did you know?”

“A few minutes ago when you called him Derek, you had this slight smile and your face lit up.”

“And you’re ok with this?”

“Yes why wouldn’t I be?  You’re my son Stiles and I love you.  All I ever wanted was for you to be happy and if this makes you happy then that is all the really matters to me.  So does this mean you’re definitely going to go back?”

“Yea dad I’ll go back and see what happens.”

“Good because it was our wish for you to be at the palace and have a chance at a good life.”


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

Three days after Scott talked to Stiles, in the very early morning hours, a guard outside the King’s chambers noticed a man coming down the hall.  It was still dark out and he wondered who this could be wandering the halls at this hour but as the man approached he couldn’t help but smile, it was the King’s servant Stiles.

“Oh thank God you’ve returned” he said.

“Yes I hear he’s in bad shape” Stiles said as they whispered. “What is that smell?”

“It’s coming from the room.  After standing here for a while you don’t notice it as much.”

“Is he awake do you know?”

“I don’t know, he sleeps on and off, he hasn’t eaten much since you left so he looks terrible.”

“Wish me luck” Stiles said and the guard smiled.

After taking a deep breath Stiles opened the door but still had to cover his nose before going inside.  He quietly closed the door then ran to the nearest window and opened it up.  After running around the room opening up the windows he heard Derek quietly say his name and he froze.

He waited but Derek said nothing more and he didn’t hear him moving so he turned to look around and realized Derek was lying on his bed; he didn’t notice him before as it was a mess and had some other clothes on it as well.  Despite the fact that Derek did look bad he couldn’t help but smile as he realized he looked adorable when he was sleeping.

Stiles noticed the sun was starting to come up so he grabbed as many of the dirty clothes he could and put them in a basket and then left the room.  As he was heading down to where the laundry was done he saw Scott and when Scott saw him he got a big smile on his face and ran at Stiles, practically knocking him over when he hugged him.

“You came back.”

“Obviously” Stiles said and they laughed

“How is he, is he mad, does he seem better?”

“He was asleep so I opened up the windows to air it out and I’m taking these things down to be cleaned and then it’s to the kitchen to get him some food and pray he doesn’t kill me when he wakes up.”

“Here I’ll take this stuff to the laundry, when I tell them it’s the King’s clothes they’ll get right on it, you go to the kitchen and get his breakfast.”

“Scott it’s fine I can handle this.”

“No really Stiles I’ll do this you just go.”  Stiles went to the kitchen and there were already people there making food and when one of the cooks saw him, he couldn’t help but smile.

“Are you here for the King?”

“Yes I am” Stiles said and without saying anything else several people ran around making eggs, toast sausage, bacon and putting it all on a large platter along with water, milk and juice.

Stiles set the tray down on the table and then walked over and stood at the foot of the bed. It was brighter in the room now that the sun was up and it already smelled better with all the windows open. Stiles went to call Derek’s name to wake him when he saw Derek’s eyes fluttered and open.

For what seemed like a very long time Derek just stared at Stiles and Stiles stared back.  He smiled at first but then his smile faded and he started to worry about what was about to happen.

Derek slowly got up and seemed to stumble around to where Stiles was standing, never breaking eye contact with him in the process.  Fear kept Stiles rooted on the spot and it also kept him from talking so he just stood there holding his breath waiting for the unknown. As he looked at Derek, he noticed that his eyes seemed out of focus but then Derek put his hand on his arm and gently squeezed it and then ran his hand up the arm to Stiles’ shoulder.

“I never get to touch you when I have this dream but this time I can so I wonder what’s different” Derek said.

“It’s not a dream Sire” he said and Derek looked at him.  He took another step closer and put this other hand on Stiles’ chest. Stiles noticed that Derek’s face suddenly looked very sad and then he saw a tear run down his cheek.  He was about to say something but Derek had pulled him into a rib crushing hug.

“This isn’t a dream Sire, you’re awake and I’m really here.”

“Stiles I need to know what it was I did or said that made you leave so I don’t do it again” Derek asked quietly with his head resting on Stiles’ shoulder.

“You didn’t do anything I left because……..well it was something personal that I needed to deal with. I’m sorry I left but I need to know if you are going to put me in the dungeons or have me executed.”

Derek pulled away and looked at him in complete shock and Stiles noticed his cheeks were wet with tears.

“Stiles I am so sorry if I ever gave you the impression that I would ever or could ever do that to you.”

“But one of the things your father told me about my position was that the only way to leave was either my own death or the death of the one I serve or if I am released by the King.”

“I never knew that Stiles and I don’t agree with that rule. I’ve been very bad off since you left but not because you just took off but because I didn’t know what happened that made you take off that’s why I wanted to know what it was I did.”

“You did nothing, like I said it was a personal thing for me but it doesn’t matter now.  Come on I brought you breakfast you need to eat and then you need to get cleaned up.”

Stiles wouldn’t allow Derek to say or ask anything further he guided him to the table and made him sit down and he was happy to see that Derek started eating.  While he ate, Stiles went and pulled the dirty clothes and sheets off the bed and managed to find a clean set of sheets to make up the bed with.

“While you were sleeping I gathered most of your dirty clothes, they are down being cleaned now so you eat and I’ll take these down and see if the others are ready yet because you have nothing to change into.”

“Please stay with me for now” Derek said and after thinking it over Stiles sat at the table with him.

As Derek devoured the large amount of food Stiles just stared at him and he wasn’t staring just to watch him eat he was staring at him the same way he was before, the way that caused him to leave in the first place, he was staring at the beauty of King Derek Hale.  Even with the weight loss and the dirty messed up hair he was still the most beautiful thing he ever saw and when he caught himself doing it again, he suddenly got up and pretended to look out the window.

“Stiles” Derek said quietly and the way he said his name sent chills down his spine.

“Yes Your Majesty?”

“Will you please tell me why you left?”

“Is that an order?”

“No it’s not. I mean I guess I could order you to tell me but I don’t want to do that I want you to tell me the truth freely.”

“I want to tell you and I will but can you give me some time?”

“Yes of course.”

“Thank you Sire now why don’t you go and get cleaned up and I’ll take these things down to the laundry and see if your other clothes are done.”

Stiles walked slowly and was not really paying attention as he was lost in thought, should he tell Derek the truth and if he did how would he react?   Could he continue to work for him and look at him on a daily basis and not be bothered by it?  Should he leave again?   Stiles had been so lost in his thoughts that when he finally snapped out of it, he realized he was nowhere near the laundry but actually in an old part of the castle.  He chuckled to himself and turned to head in the right direction when he was hit from behind.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

Derek was starting to feel like himself again and after eating and taking a bath he really felt great and he was happy that Stiles was back as well.   While he was waiting for Stiles to return he put on his robe and starting going through some papers on his desk and soon he realized that Stiles should have been back.

He started to worry and wondered if Stiles up and left again but this time he wasn’t going to sit around and not do something about it so for the first time in weeks he stepped outside of his chambers.  The guards outside the door were both surprised but it was evident by the smiles on their faces they were happy to see the King looking like himself again.

“Did either of you see my servant Stiles?”

“Yes Sire we saw him leave with a basket of your clothes, we assume he was heading down to the laundry.”

“Ok thank you” Derek said and started heading that way himself.

“Sire is everything alright?”

“I don’t know he should have been back by now.”

“We can go look for him for you.”

“No I think it’s about time I leave my chamber and walk around a bit” Derek said smiling and continued on his way.

“Your Majesty” one of the women in the laundry said and everybody stopped what they were doing and bowed.

“Have any of you seen my servant Stiles today?  He brought a basket of my clothes down earlier and recently came with more clothes to be cleaned.”

“Sorry Your Majesty but we haven’t seen Stiles at all today.”

“So you have none of my things?”

“No Sire we do but these were dropped off this morning by Sir Scott” said one of the men who had a basket full of clean and folded clothes.

  
“Sir Scott brought these this morning?”

“Yes Sire.”

“Ok thank you” Derek said taking the basket of clean clothes. 

“I need you to go find Sir Scott and bring him here” Derek said to one of the guards when he returned to his chambers.  After getting dressed and putting his own clothes away, which he actually enjoyed doing; there was a knock at his door. “Enter” said Derek and Sir Scott came in.

“You wanted to see me Your Majesty?”

“Yes I understand that you took a basket of my clothes down to the laundry this morning, do you mind telling me how that came about?”

“Yes Sire I did, I ran into Stiles this morning and told him that I was happy he came back.  I offered to take the clothes down to the laundry so he could go to the kitchen and get your breakfast Sire.”

“What do you mean you were happy that he came back, did you know he was going to return?”

Scott finally looked up at Derek, hesitant to answer at first. “Well Sire I was the one that actually went out looking for him and I found him and asked him to return so when I saw him this morning I told him I was happy that he was back.”

“You went looking for him but why?”

“Well meaning no disrespect Sire but we were concerned about you and it was my hope that his return would be of some benefit to you” Scott explained and then tensed up expecting Derek to scream at him. For a very brief second Derek’s blood pressure went up but he realized quickly that they were only looking out for his well being and he was touched.

“Well thank you Scott as you can see I am doing better and I am grateful that you found him and convinced him to return and I am also grateful that you did see him because I thought I was going crazy.”

“What do you mean?”

“He took the rest of my clothes and my sheets down to the laundry while I got cleaned up and after some time passed and he wasn’t back I thought he might have left again so I went to find him.  The people in the laundry said they never saw him at all so I was beginning to wonder if it was an illusion.”

“Wait they never saw him, did they have the second basket of clothes?”

“No they didn’t which also has me worried.  You don’t think something happened do you Scott?  Do you think he might have left again?”

“I don’t think so unless something happened between the two of you.”

“No nothing that I could think of, I mean I asked him why he left in the first place and he kept saying it was for personal reasons and it appeared it wasn’t easy for him to tell me but said he would tell me later.”

For a minute they both just looked at each other and then at the same time they left the chamber, both setting out to search for Stiles, “Stiles is missing, gather the other guards and search the castle” Derek said to the guards outside his door and they took off running without question while Derek and Scott tried to retrace Stiles journey to the laundry.

About halfway on their way to the laundry Derek suddenly stopped and smelled the air, “what is it?” Scott asked.

“I came this way earlier looking for Stiles and I didn’t notice the scent I smell now” Derek said and he started walking down a side hall that lead to the damaged part of the castle, it was the section that was severely damaged during the attack that killed the King’s parents.  They turned down another hall and they both stopped dead, lying on the floor just a few feet away was the basket Stiles was carrying.  They both ran towards it and Scott was now able to pick up on the scent that Derek was following and it was evident that Stiles had been kidnapped.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

 

It was the first drop of cold water that caused Stiles to wake up to find himself chained to a large wooden post in the middle of clearing in some woods.  There were tents all around him and the men inside were sitting around eating and laughing at him as he was getting soaked with the heavy rains falling.

He was a couple of feet off the ground with only the chains supporting him and it was causing him a lot of pain, “who are you, what do you want with me?” he shouted but the men just continued to laugh.  Stiles looked to his left and noticed another man chained to post like he was and he noticed the clothes he had on, he was from Hale Castle, he was a knight. The guy’s head was down and turned in such a way that all he could see was the top of the guy’s head  but then one of the captors came out “oh did you want to see who your friend is” he said and he pushed the guy’s head up so Stiles could see his face, it was Danny.

“He got in the way” the guy said as he turned to head back into the tent. Stiles stared at Danny wondering, hoping he was alive and eventually he could see Danny’s chest moving as he breathed but it wasn’t moving all that much and he feared Danny might not make it. Just then, to his right, Stiles saw a much larger tent and then the entrance was opened and a well-dressed man came out and walked over to him.

“What do you want with us? “Stiles asked

“Well it was only you we wanted, as you heard this one got in the way so we had no choice to bring him along.  I mean they could have killed him but apparently he was just only made a Knight of Hale Castle and I think one of my men took a liking to him so here he is.”

“What did you do to him?”

“Nothing, he’s alive but I’m not sure why he hasn’t woken up yet unless he is awake and is just faking it but anyway back to your question.  My name is Devin and unfortunately I was overthrown and lost my kingdom so I have been in search of a new one and the Kingdom of Beacon Hills is perfect for me. It’s not too big yet its location is excellent and it is allied with much larger kingdoms.”

“So you kidnapped me to take over?  I’m just a servant I’m not anybody special so if you think King Derek is going to turn over the keys to the kingdom or even bother to come looking for me you’re mistaken.”

“Oh no, I don’t expect him to simply hand anything over, I completely expect there to be a fight but having you is the ace up my sleeve. You see I’ve had several of my men here go in and out of the castle, some getting work there for a while so they could spy and find out where the weak points are in the castle and the best way to really get at King Derek and all of them at one point or another pointed out that you, his manservant, seemed to be his Achilles heel.   They’ve all observed and reported the strange relationship you both have, it is not like any other servant/master relationship they’ve seen before.”

“I guess I can see how you lost your kingdom if you really think holding a servant, who can easily be replaced, is going to get you anywhere” Stiles said and then Devin hit him in the knee with his walking stick.

“You may be able to talk to your king like that but not me and I am a king.”

“You’re not my king and yes King Derek and I have a different relationship than most but I am who I am and he respects that.”

“Well then I guess we will soon find out how much he does respect it and how much you do mean to him.”

***

“Scott, gather the other knights and meet me back here” Derek said as he picked up the basket.

“Do you want me to do that?”

“No just get the others, I’ll take this to the laundry and meet you all back here.”

When Derek returned Scott had not yet come back with the others so he started looking around and followed the scent further along the hall and it lead to a hole in a wall and as he walked towards it he stepped on something and looked down, it was a necklace.  As he was looking at it Scott returned with the others, “where’s Danny?” he asked.

“We couldn’t find him” Scott said.

“I found this, I believe it belongs to Danny” Derek said holding up the necklace and Jackson confirmed it was Danny’s.

“Well it seems they must have taken Danny as well.  Scott I want you and Isaac to follow the scent as far as you can and if you find the people responsible I don’t want you to do anything just come back here.  Jackson I want you to do what you do best and go down to the pubs and spend some time with the ladies and see if you can find out anything.   Boyd I want you to come with me to the lower villages and see if anybody there knows anything or saw anything out of the ordinary.”


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6**

 

The rain had stopped and now the sun was shining, it was mid-day and Stiles was feeling weak as he was out in the open under the hot sun.  He turned to look at Danny whose head was still down but his chest was still moving so he was still alive.

“You look hot, here I have just the thing” one of the men said as he and several others laughed.  Stiles could barely keep his eyes open as he watched the man walk behind a tent and come back with a bucket.  The man was getting ready to throw it at Stiles when suddenly and arrow pierced the side of the man’s head and he fell to the ground dead.  The others that gathered around stopped laughing and Stiles turned to look and saw Devin standing at the entrance of his tent with a crossbow.

“I will not have either of them damaged any more than they already are now one of you get them some water and don’t throw it on them” he said. Danny was unconscious so they couldn’t get him to drink and Stiles was grateful for the water although they didn’t give him very much.  He had hoped that they would throw a bucket of water at him to cool him off because the chains were getting hot in the sun and burning his skin; he was hoping to pass out so he couldn’t feel the pain at this point.

***

Derek was in the dining hall with Boyd and Jackson, the other two were eating but Derek was too worried to eat and kept pacing as they waited for Scott and Isaac to return.  As the sun continued to go down in the sky Derek only got more worried but then the doors opened and Scott and Isaac entered the room.

“Well?” Derek asked.

“Sire, there is an encampment about three miles south of here, we don’t know how many people there are but they have Stiles and Danny” Isaac said.

“They are both chained to posts in a clearing; the tents are set up around them so they are pretty much on display.  Sire they don’t look good at all, Stiles seemed to be conscious but barely and we never saw Danny move at all” Scott said.

“Thank you please sit and eat you’ll need your strength” Derek said and Isaac sat down to eat but Scott remained standing just staring at Derek.

“Is there a problem?”

“No Sire I’m just waiting for you to sit and eat.”

“I already ate.”

“Did you really, so you licked that plate clean?”

“Excuse me” Derek said, getting annoyed.

“I asked you if you licked your plate clean Your Majesty.”

“I will not be spoken to in that manner Sir Scott.”

“You want us to eat and build up our strength so obviously we will be going to rescue them in the very near future but it’s more important for you to be at full strength.  I am not Stiles but I think I know him well enough that if he was standing here he wouldn’t hesitate to tell you to cut the crap and sit down and eat.” Boyd, Jackson and Isaac all froze waiting to see what was about to happen to Scott.  Derek’s eyes flashed at first but then he couldn’t help but smile “you’re right he would tell me that” he said and then he sat down to eat.

***

Stiles opened his eyes when a cool breeze sent a slight chill through him and he realized it was night time and that he must have passed out.  It was very dark out, the only lights he could see were coming from lanterns in the tents, he could hear people talking and laughing and he smelled food which caused his stomach to growl.  Even with that, it seemed too quiet and he realized he didn’t hear any of the normal sounds you hear in the woods, there were no crickets chirping, no sound of any animals moving around.  

“Danny……Sir Danny……can you hear me?”  Stiles said but there was no movement, no response. It was too dark to see if he was still breathing so he couldn’t help but wonder if he was dead.  Stiles struggled to keep his eyes open, he was hungry and thirsty and feeling weak.  He could feel himself about to pass out again when in the distance he heard the howl of a wolf.

Despite the noise his captors were making, hearing that sound caused them to get quiet because wolves were extremely rare since the apocalypse.  That wasn’t the only sound that Stiles heard, he turned to his left to finally see Danny moving and he just stared in shock as Danny began to change.   His hands got a little bigger and his fingers grew longer as his fingernails turned into claws.  His mouth started changing as well and Stiles saw his teeth change.

The growling sounds he was making caused some of the men to emerge from their tents and they watched with the same shocked look that Stiles had on his face.  Danny shifted his arms and the chains that bound him to the post snapped and fell to the ground with Danny.   He turned and looked at Stiles and then threw his head back and howled and they all heard another howl in response but this time it was much closer. 

Stiles started to panic and he ignored the pain he was feeling as he struggled to try and free himself from the chains for fear of being ripped apart but they wouldn’t budge.  Soon the woods were filled with the sounds of something, or several things, running around the encampment.  The men grabbed weapons and got ready to fight, Stiles looked again and Danny was gone.  Stiles could feel the post starting to vibrate and he realized it was the ground that was vibrating, the men were all out of their tents and in the clearing looking all around, trying to see what was in the woods but it was so dark they couldn’t see anything.

As suddenly as it all started, it stopped and had gone dead quiet again and Stiles could tell by looking at them, that his captors were more nervous now than they were before.  Devin came out of his tent, his cross bow in hand and loaded along with a large battle ax on his waist.

“SIRE!” one of the men screamed and Stiles looked in time to see something grab Devin from behind and pull him back into the tent.  They heard him scream briefly and then Devin’s head was tossed out and landed right at the base of Stiles’ post.  Stiles screamed with the rest of them and started his struggle again to get free as the men scattered and started to run away in every direction.

Stiles saw creatures running around chasing down and killing the men but they were moving so fast he wasn’t sure what they were and then to his horror he saw the thing that killed Devin.  It was tall and covered in black hair, its eyes were glowing bright red and it was looking at right him and heading towards him.

“No please no” Stiles said as he continued to try and free himself and tears started to run down his face but it was useless, he couldn’t get free and before he knew it the beast was standing right in front of him.

“Please let this end quickly” Stiles said as he closed his eyes and waited for this thing to kill him but then he felt something touch his chest and he opened his eyes.  The beast was still there looking at him but it had put his very large hand on his chest and then it closed its hand around the chain and pulled it and it broke. 

The beast caught Stiles as he fell and then gently put him down on the ground.  Stiles looked up at it as it had to be close to 7 feet tall and he slowly started to back away but fell to the ground because he had little feeling in his legs.  He tried crawling away from the thing but soon found himself surrounded, “Stiles it’s ok” he heard somebody say and looked around to see Scott smiling at him and he too had changed like Danny.   As Stiles looked around at the rest of them he realized it was not only Scott and Danny but also Isaac, Jackson and Boyd; all of the kings knights were…….he couldn’t believe he was thinking this, but they were werewolves. 

It was then he realized something and looked back at the large hairy beast that was still standing there just looking at him, “Sire?” Stiles said and the beast just nodded his head yes and then he passed out.


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER 7**

 

It was the smell of food and the rumble of his stomach that caused Stiles to finally open his eyes and when he did he realized he was in a large tent.  It took a few moments but he realized he was in the tent that Devin used to be in and it was that memory that brought back the memories of everything else that happened.  He could see the reflection of a large fire and the shadows of those outside walking around, they all looked human again but that didn’t do much to calm his fears.

There was no headless body in the tent but the splattered blood was still there so he tried to ignore it otherwise he would throw up.  There was no other way in and out of this tent so he figured he would try to crawl under the back wall but not before he quickly devoured the food and the jug of water and then he quietly got up and crawled away.  It was still dark but he could see the sky getting light in the distance so it was close to dawn; he never looked back he just walked as fast and quietly as he could before starting to run.

Derek popped into the tent and immediately realized Stiles was gone; he turned around and looked to see if he missed him coming out of the tent but he was nowhere to be found.

“Is everything alright Your Majesty?” Scott asked.

“He’s gone, Stiles is gone.”

Scott stuck his head inside the tent and it was empty and he noticed the food and water were gone as well.

“I need to go after him” Derek said but Scott grabbed his arm.

“No don’t, let him go, give him some time.”

“What do you mean?”

“Sire he was kidnapped chained to pole and left out exposed to the elements not knowing if he was going to live or die and then he saw Danny transform and got a look at the rest of us and you.  It’s pretty obvious that he is afraid of us and what we are and chasing after him is not going to change that.  Let him go, give it a few days and I’ll let you know where you might find him.”

“Scott I can’t lose him again I need him.”

“I know Sire and you’ll get him back but just trust me on this, give him some time.”

Derek didn’t like the idea but he agreed so he and the others tore down the last tent and tossed it on to the fire to burn with the other tents and the bodies of those that they killed before returning to Hale Castle.

 

On the 4th morning after they rescued Stiles and Danny, Derek was again lying in his bed thinking.  He hadn’t been sleeping well since Stiles ran away again and each morning he would pretend to be asleep and hope that it would be Stiles to come in and wake him up.  When he heard the door to his room open he closed his eyes to pretend to be sleeping and would listen to whomever it was opening the curtains and windows.  It was when this person opened the windows closest to his bed that he realized it was somebody different, he immediately caught the scent of a werewolf and opened his eyes to see Scott.

“Why is one of my knights waking me up, are the other servants already afraid to come in here?”

“No” Scott said laughing, “it’s just that I need to talk to you and this seemed like as good a time as any.”

“Well I have to say Scott you’re quite good at this, how would you like to be my new servant since I let you convince me to let Stiles run away again. I mean I think a demotion from knight to servant is better than a long time in the dungeons, wouldn’t you agree?” Scott just chuckled, he could tell by Derek’s tone he was serious but Scott wasn’t going to let him know he was intimidated by that.

“Actually that is why I’m here this morning. I told you that after giving it a few days I would tell you where to go and look for Stiles.”

“And how do you know he is definitely at the place that you are going to send me?”

“Because yesterday I took I ride out there just to confirm that he is where I thought he would be. Oh don’t worry; he didn’t see me I made sure to keep my distance.”

“Ok so where is he?”

“He’s back at home on his father’s farm”

“How did you know he would be there?”

“Because that is where I found him the last time when I went to look for him.”

“So his father lied when I sent men there the last time he ran away?”  
  
“No Sire, his father didn’t lie, Stiles was not there then.  You see he knew you would send people there to look for him so where he went that first time we don’t know. He had only been back a couple of weeks when I went to look for him.”

“His father’s farm is to the east isn’t it?”

“Yes it is just near the eastern border of the kingdom.”

“Well, meet me in the stables and we’ll leave immediately.”

“Actually Sire I think it best you go yourself, I think showing up with me or any of the other knights might cause him to think you are there to arrest him.”

“You’re right then I’ll go alone and thank you Scott.”

“Anytime Sire, now eat before it gets cold” Scott said before leaving.

***

“Your Majesty this is an honor” Stiles’ father said when Derek arrived.

“Good morning please tell me Stiles is here?”

“He’s out back tending to the crops.”

“Thank you” Derek said as he jumped off his horse and walked around the house to the farmland.  It took a few minutes but after walking along he finally caught site of Stiles whose back was turned to him so he was able to quietly sneak up on him.

  
“Hello Stiles” he said when he was practically behind him and Stiles jumped and turned around.

“Your Majesty, what are you doing here?” Stiles asked as he was looking all around.

“I’m here on my own Stiles there are no guards here with me I want you to come home Stiles but I’m not going to force you.  I was going to explain everything to you the other night but you took off before I had a chance.”

“Yea well I didn’t want to stick around and risk being ripped apart and turned into dinner.”  Stiles regretted saying that the second it came out of his mouth when he saw the look that appeared on Derek’s face when he said it.

“Stiles you have never been in any danger from me or my knights, nobody at the castle has any reason to fear us.”

“You mean everybody else knows?”

“No you are the only one that knows our secret and I hope I can trust you to keep it a secret.”

“What choice do I have, I barely believe it myself so nobody would believe me if I said anything anyway.”

“Well I’ll let you get back to work, I’m sure your father needs the help.”

“Wait you’re leaving?  I thought you were going to explain everything?”

“Yes Stiles I will but not here” Derek said with a big smile.

“Wait a minute, you mean I have to go back to the castle in order to find out what’s going on?  That’s black mail Sire.”

“I have a secret, well two actually to tell you and you still owe me an explanation why you took off the first time so when you’re ready to talk, I’ll be ready to talk” Derek said laughing as he started to walk away.  Derek was on his horse getting ready to leave, “hey wait up” Stiles shouted as he came running around the house.

Derek put his hand out and Stiles took and sat behind Derek on the horse.

“Are you sure this time son?” his father asked

“Yea dad I’m sure.”

“Good and Sire please take care of my son.”

“Don’t worry I will” Derek said before riding off.


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER 8**

When they arrived back at the castle there was something Derek needed to take care of so Stiles went to the kitchens to get lunch for the both of them so they could eat and talk.

“Oh good you got us some food” Derek said when he entered the room.

“I let everybody know I am not to be disturbed unless there is an army at the gates about to attack” he added and they both laughed.

“On the ride back here I kept running through my head how to explain this to you, how to tell you but I think the only way is just to start from the beginning.  When my mother was pregnant with me apparently this old woman, who claimed to be a witch, put a curse on me.  She said something along the lines of me turning into a hideous beast on the full moon.  Well needless to say my parents didn’t pay attention to it and certainly didn’t believe in that stuff until two weeks after I was born and there was a full moon.  At the time I slept in a crib that was in their room with them because my mother did not believe in having chamber maids taking care of her children it was something both she and my dad liked to do themselves.  Anyway on that night they heard strange noises coming from the crib and when they looked there I was with a full head of hair, fangs and claws.  Now keep in mind I was only two weeks old and didn’t have any hair or teeth but on that night I did and it was then that they realized there was truth to the curse.”

“I’m sorry to interrupt but why did this woman do that?”

“You know I have no idea. I don’t know if my parents didn’t know either or if they did, they kept it from me but the fact of the matter is I was born a werewolf.”

“Did she ever return did your parents ever see this woman again or look for her?”

“I think my father wanted to hunt her down but my mother feared that she could do something worse and to just let it go.  As I got older they tried to lock me in a room on the night of the full moon but I made a lot of noise and it killed my parents, especially my father, to lock me up like that.  I don’t think they were worried about me killing anybody as people finding out so my father decided that he would take me deep into the woods and camp overnight with me every full moon.”

“Wasn’t he afraid for his safety?”

“I asked him that once and he said he was but I was his son and he was going to do what was necessary and if it cost him his life then that was a risk he was willing to take.  Well I remember that first night that we camped and I changed, I looked at him like he was prey and I remember growling at him and slowly moving towards him and he simply said ‘I love you son’ and I stopped and I realized he was my dad.  I turned and ran away into the woods.  I attacked and killed a deer and when I found my way back to the campsite I was covered in blood. I took one look at my father and I just started crying and I hadn’t changed back yet so I still had the claws and fangs and do you know what my father did?  He calmly walked over to me picked me up and set me on his lap and just held me while I cried.”

Derek had to stop there and wipe his eyes as he started to get upset and Stiles just reached over and put his hand on Derek’s arm.

“I was very close with my father because once a month, on every full moon, we would go camping until I turned fifteen.”

“Why what happened when you turned fifteen?”

“Well I went to my father that morning and asked him if I could go alone just this one time.  He tried to hide it, but I saw the hurt look on his face the second I asked the question.”

“So did he let you go alone?”

“Yes and no, he did let me go but later when I returned to the camp site he was there waiting for me and good thing he was because it was that night that something else happened. When I first set up camp and then changed, instinct kicked in and I went on the hunt and I ran into something I had never seen before, it was an alpha werewolf and it looked like what I turned into the other night.  When I saw it I just froze I had never seen anything like that before and I was thrilled because I realized I wasn’t alone that there were others like me, other werewolves out there.  I was hoping to be friendly with it and maybe ask him questions after we changed back but he just attacked me and we fought.  It was an ugly fight, we were biting and ripping each other apart until eventually he turned and ran away.  I barely made it back to the camp site and collapsed into my father’s arms.  I don’t remember much after that, only what my father told me, he told me that I was burning up with fever and tossed and turned all night long.  The following morning I told him what happened and what I saw so we went to the library, it was in the part of the castle that was destroyed, and we spent hours at a time in there going over all kinds of books and were able to finally figure out what it was I fought and that I would most likely be the same.”

“But it wasn’t a full moon the other night so how were you able to change?”

“Oh over time I learned I could change at will and in fact learned not to let the full moon control it which is why you never knew about me because I can control the change.”

“But what about the knights, how did they end up being werewolves?”

“Well as you know Scott was made a knight under my father’s rule and one night, before I could control myself, he was curious about where I went so he followed me.  He had no idea it was me when he found me after I changed and he came at me. I knew it was him but couldn’t say anything and I didn’t want to hurt him so I just shoved him aside and took off but unfortunately I scratched him pretty bad in the process so that is how he became a werewolf.  It was then that I decided that my best men would be knights and werewolves.”

Stiles was so captivated by the story it took a few moments for him to realize that Derek had actually stopped talking.

“Wow that is incredible so is this one of those secrets that now that I know you have to kill me?”  Stiles asked it to be funny but the look that came on Derek’s face told him that Derek didn’t take it that way.

“Stiles if I haven’t done it already then please let me do it now and that is to say that I am very sorry if I ever gave the impression that I would ever do such a thing to you.  If you want to know another truth then here it is I love you Stiles.”

Stiles didn’t know what to do; he wasn’t expecting those words to come out of the King’s mouth.  Derek reached over and gently touched Stiles’ cheek and Stiles took his hand and kissed it and then held it against his chest.

“I……..I think……I think I love you too and that is why I left before. You’re the King you need to marry and produce an heir and…..”  Stiles was cut off when Derek put his finger to his lips.

“Come here” he said standing up and pulling Stiles up with him, “there may have been a time when the most important thing was producing an heir to the throne but times are different. Kingdom’s are passed to whomever the King or Queen decides if there is no heir and me being what I am I’ll age much slower so this will be my kingdom for a very long time to come.”

Stiles found himself slowly leaning in to kiss Derek, he was about to kiss the King and he didn’t care but his heart started to race with both excitement and not knowing what would happen.  Stiles stepped back and gasped because Derek’s eyes were red.

“What’s the matter?” Derek asked with a smile.

“Your eyes were red.”

“Sorry about that but you have that effect on me.”

“I make you want to turn into a hairy beast with claws and fangs?”

“No I just get excited and sometimes my eyes will do that but otherwise I’m in complete control.  If I haven’t said it already then I’ll say now, you are not now or have ever been in any danger with me. I guess it’s a good thing it happened now instead of you seeing it tonight when it’s completely dark in here.”

“Tonight, what is happening tonight?”

“Tonight, when I have you in my bed all to myself” Derek said as he stepped up to Stiles and put his arms around him.

“Excuse me Sire but what kind of servant do you think I am?  I mean you expect me to sleep with you when we haven’t even had a real first date? “Stiles tried to be serious but Derek burst out laughing and Stiles couldn’t help but laugh himself.

“Forgive me, you’re right we should have a real date so how about you give me an hour and meet up on top of western tower?”

“Why, what’s up there?”

“It’s a surprise so just meet me there in an hour” Derek said and then left Stiles standing in his chambers confused.

Stiles paced back and forth in his room, double checking to make sure he looked ok after cleaning up and changing clothes.  When it was finally time to head toward the tower he couldn’t help but run, stopping at the top of the steps to catch his breath.   When he opened the door he had to stop as he was completely surprised. 

Sitting there was a small round table with two chairs, candles, a bottle of wine and food, “wow” he said eventually and then he looked at Derek, standing there smiling at him, and he was mesmerized by his smile.

Derek held out a chair and Stiles sat down and Derek leaned down “how is this for a date” he asked and Stiles turned and kissed him.

“I would have settled for a beer and crackers to be honest but this is definitely much better.”

“You’re worth more than beer and crackers” Derek said as he sat down across from Stiles.

They spent the next hour just eating and talking about everything and nothing until finally Stiles got up and walked around to where Derek was sitting.  He sat down on his one leg and gently kissed him but then Derek had his arms locked around Stiles and they were kissing more passionately.

Stiles broke away when he felt Derek’s body vibrate and he saw his eyes were red, “what did you just do?” he asked.

“Sorry I growled” Derek said and Stiles just looked at him and then smiled. “That has to be the sexiest thing I’ve ever felt” he said and then he kissed Derek again and again Derek growled.

“Oh yea, that is definitely hot and you’re eyes are really glowing now that it’s dark out.”

“Well I hope you’re not afraid, like I said you are not in any danger and you never will be so I hope your opinion of me has changed?”

“It hasn’t, you’re still a clod” Stiles said and Derek burst out laughing.   Stiles stood up and waited for Derek to take his hand and he did and they headed inside back to Derek’s chambers.

 

And they lived happily ever after, at least for awhile…


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**5 years later**

High King Derek Hale was awoken by a gentle kiss on his forehead and he couldn’t help but smile. Without opening his eyes, he reached out and grabbed his husband Stiles and pulled him down onto the bed.

“Good morning my love” he said as he opened his eyes and kissed Stiles. “You’re dressed already?” Derek asked when he looked at Stiles.

“I never could put anything past you” Stiles said which earned him a smack on his ass.

“Hey, no time for that this morning we have to get ready to go” he said as he got up and pulled Derek out of bed. “I brought breakfast “he said as they walked towards the table.

“Still acting like a servant after all these years?”

“Well if you must know, I never understood why royals needed servants. I mean I can understand having them to clean because the castles aren’t tiny and for cooking because there are a lot of people to feed here on a daily basis, let alone when we are entertaining, but I am quite capable to doing things myself and I like doing them, especially taking care of you.”

“Stiles, if I had known then what I know now I would have been nicer to you when I first met you.”

“We first met when you bumped into me a knocked me down.”

“I know but I would have, or I should have apologized and helped you up.”

“You were a Prince, you didn’t do things like that and you were a clod.”

Derek almost choked on his eggs, Stiles calling him a clod still made him laugh after all these years.

“Tell me something, did you ever think that you would be where you are now when you arrived here?”

“Are you kidding, absolutely not, I came here looking for work and ended up being your servant. I never would have thought that about eight years later we would be married, you with the title of High King and me a King, hell I never expected any title other than your servant.”

“Would you do anything differently?”

“Yes I wouldn’t have run away those two times I did, but as for the rest of it I wouldn’t do anything different” said Stiles as he leaned over and kissed Derek.

“Mmm French toast” he said and Derek laughed as Stiles kissed him again.

After they finished eating, Stiles took the tray back to the kitchen while Derek got cleaned up and dressed and packed for his trip.

“This is weird” Stiles said.

“What’s weird?”

“This is the first time you and I have gone away separately.”

“I know but unfortunately we were invited to two weddings on the same weekend and it wouldn’t be good to turn down one for the other. Besides, we leave today, go to the weddings tomorrow and meet back here on Sunday; it’s just for one day.”

“I know but why do I have to go to the Kingdom of Portland?  You were there when Princess Vanessa was married so it makes sense that you should be there when her sister Victoria marries.”

“Because I was there when Vanessa married is why I am not going and considering they came for our wedding and the extravagant gift you were given by the King and Queen and because Victoria adores you is why you are going.”

Derek finished packing his bag and turned to look at Stiles and he could tell something was bothering him, “Stiles what’s the matter?”

“I don’t know I just have a bad feeling that something is going to happen.”

“What do you mean?”

“Derek, haven’t you realized it’s like history repeating itself?”

“What do you mean?”

“Eight years ago I became your servant and we met when you were going to the tailor shop to get new clothes to wear because you were going to Portland for a wedding and your sister went to Francisco for a wedding at the same time.  I had to go and get you because the kingdom was attacked and now here we are again.  Two weddings on the same day in two different kingdoms, just like it was all those years ago?”

Derek didn’t know what to say, he could see that Stiles was genuinely concerned about this and Derek never put much stock when people had ‘a bad feeling’ about something but he couldn’t deny that there was something about what Stiles was saying.

“Are you afraid the castle will be attacked while we are away or are you afraid that I will meet the same fate as my sister did back then?”

“I don’t know I just have this feeling that something is going to happen.”

“Well I don’t deny that you have a bad feeling Stiles because I can see it in your face, but you have to remember a few things.  First of all we have had no problems or threats since that incident when you and Danny were taken and that was five years ago.  Secondly you are going to be escorted by Scott, Boyd and Jackson, they are three of my best knights and they are werewolves.  Thirdly I am the alpha, my sister was not a werewolf so if anybody came after me during my travels, they will be sorry they did.”

“I guess you’re right” Stiles said but he couldn’t stop himself from putting his arms around Derek and hugging him tight.   The time arrived for them to leave so they met the knights in the courtyard and kissed each other goodbye before riding out.

***

The wedding was perfect as was the weather but Scott, Jackson and Boyd seemed to notice something wasn’t right with King Stiles from the moment they left Hale Castle and even now, he didn’t seem like he was really there mentally.    The three Knights were sitting at a table with other Knights that escorted other royals to the wedding and Scott kept looking up at the table where Stiles was seated; he seemed to be talking and laughing but when he wasn’t engaged in conversation he was staring off.

“Scott, what is up with the King” Jackson asked during the reception dinner.

“I don’t know, he hasn’t seemed himself since we left Hale Castle, it’s like he is nervous about something.”

“Do you think we should ask him?” Boyd asked.

“Yes but not here and not now, I’ll see if I can talk to him later and find out what is going on.”

After all the food was served people started to get up from their seats and dance or mingle around the room with other people and before they knew it, King Stiles was at their table asking to speak with the three of them privately.  They all looked at each other and then got up and followed him out of the room.

“Look I don’t want to be up too late tonight I want to start heading back early tomorrow” he said.

“Sire, forgive me for asking but is something wrong?  You’ve seemed very…I don’t know nervous or distracted ever since we left Hale Castle” Scott asked and the three of them were looking at him. With a sigh, Stiles looked around and told the three of them what he told Derek about having a bad feeling and how this is so much like what happened eight years prior.

“Look I know you think I’m crazy or paranoid or both, but I have not been able to shake this feeling that something bad is going to happen and I won’t feel better until we are all back at Hale Castle and I know everybody is safe and that includes you three, King Derek and Sirs Isaac and Danny.”

“Ok, we will leave first thing in the morning Sire and we don’t think you’re crazy. Maybe a bit paranoid, but not crazy” said Scott and Stiles laughed.

***

The following morning the four of them were on the road before sunrise and three of them learned something new about Sir Jackson, he is not a morning person, in fact he is downright mean when woken up too early.  Stiles never forgot where he came from so he never treated any of the servants like he was above them; he sometimes still felt inferior to the Knights and not because they were werewolves, just because they were Knights and to him that was a very prestigious job.  Because of this he never used his title to get things done but this morning he pulled rank to get Jackson up and moving, of course threatening to tell High King Derek, who was also his alpha, did help motivate Jackson.

They rode in single file, with Boyd taking the lead followed by Stiles, Scott and Jackson in back. It was done this way on purpose as Boyd was the biggest and strongest and he would charge right in to tackle as many enemies as possible, Scott would stick with Stiles and protect him and Jackson was fast and slim built so he could really move around quickly.  Scott watched as Stiles kept looking to the left and the right the entire ride, they were on a narrow road surrounded by woods so he could understand him being a bit nervous but it was now at the point that he had to say something.

He rode his horse up alongside Stiles’ horse, “Sire its ok, and if there was anything or anyone in the woods the three of us would know it, we have heightened senses remember?”  


“I know and I know I shouldn’t be acting this way but that feeling I’ve been having just started to get stronger, I really feel like something is going to happen and if not to us, then either Hale Castle or Derek. I just want to get home” he said and getting upset but then Boyd suddenly stopped and put his hand up and they all stopped.

“Oh God” Stiles said quietly and he looked as the three of them were looking around. “Do you hear something” he whispered quietly and Scott slowly shook his head yes.

“GO” Scott suddenly shouted and Stiles wasted no time in getting his horse to start running at full speed. The last thing he saw when he looked back was the three of them changing and going on the attack.

It seemed like seconds passed and there was no sound but the sound of his horse running and his own breathing and he prayed that the three of them were ok but he couldn’t stop.   Stiles turned to look behind him but there was nothing but empty road and just as he turned back around he saw a spear coming at him, he ducked out of the way but leaned over too far; he felt the spear graze and cut open his shoulder and the last thing he remembers is looking down as he fell from his horse and seeing a steep drop-off.  He fell hard to the ground, getting the wind knocked out of him and he started tumbling down the hill, his last thought was of Derek before his head slammed into a tree and everything went black.

***

After killing and disposing of the bodies of the marauders, Scott, Boyd and Jackson rode hard to catch up to King Stiles to make sure he was ok but Scott immediately got a sick feeling when they came upon Stiles’ horse and he wasn’t there, instead there was somebody in a hooded cloak petting the horse.

The three of them came up and drew their swords, “that horse belongs….”

“I know whose horse it is” a female voice said before Scott could finish what he was saying and then the figure turned around and pushed the hood down on her cloak.  Scott was instantly enchanted by her and she smiled at him and bowed her head slightly to all of them.

“What happened here, what have you done with King Stiles?”  Boyd asked.

“It’s not what I did, it’s what he did” she said and she pointed to a body just off the road with a small arrow sticking through his neck.  The three of them looked and then they noticed the small crossbow she had hanging from a belt around her waist.

“Come, I’ll take you to him and explain what happened on the way. My name is Allison by the way” she said and started walking the horse.  The three of them looked at each other and started to follow her.

“Is he ok?’ Scott asked.

“He’s alive but he’s pretty banged up.  I was returning to our cottage, I live there with my sister Lydia. Anyway I was heading back after picking some herbs in the woods when I heard a horse running along the road. I looked and the rider was looking behind him, I didn’t know who it was but I knew by the clothes he wore that he must be from Hale Castle.  It was then that I saw the man appear on the road and he had a spear, I knew he was going to throw it. So I drew my crossbow but unfortunately I was too late, he had thrown the spear just as I shot my arrow.  King Stiles turned around in time and I watched as he leaned to the side to avoid the spear but he leaned too far and fell off the horse.   There is a steep drop off at that point and I watched in horror as he slammed into a tree and disappeared down the embankment.”

“I climbed down and realized who it was and got my sister and we moved him into our cottage, which luckily was not far from where he landed.  My sister reads a lot of books, especially about medicine so she is taking care of him and I came back to wait with the horse figuring somebody would be coming along, because I know neither King Stiles or High King Derek are never without Knights escorting them.”

“Well thank you and I know King Derek will be grateful as well” said Scott as they arrived at the cottage.

Allison lead them inside and they were shocked by what they saw, King Stiles was lying on a bed with a bloody bandage around his head, his shirt was off and they could see a large area of bruising on his ribs on the right side of his chest.  When they walked in, there was another young woman who stood as they came in and this time Jackson became enchanted and it seemed she did as well when they looked at each other.

“Gentlemen, this is my sister Lydia” Allison said but she couldn’t introduce them as she did not know their names.

“Oh sorry I’m Scott and this is Boyd and Jackson, we are Knights of Hale Castle and we were escorting the King back from a wedding.  We were attacked by a group of marauders and I told him to go and get away.”

“What is wrong with his left arm?” Boyd asked noticing it didn’t look right.

“His left shoulder is dislocated and actually I could use your help in putting it back in place, but we need to be careful because he has some broken ribs on his right side and one wrong move his lung could be punctured and he could die” Lydia said and the three of them looked nervous.   Lydia wrapped a scarf around the King under his left arm and she asked Scott to hold it and then she had Boyd come around and take hold of the King’s left arm.

“Scott don’t do anything just hold that tight, Boyd I want you to very slowly pull on the King’s arm. Scott all you need to do his hold tight to the scarf to prevent the King from moving as Boyd is pulling. I’ll let you know when to stop” Lydia said and Scott held tight while Boyd slowly pulled on the King’s arm. Lydia knelt down and had her hands on the King’s shoulder and then with suction like sound the shoulder popped back into place and when it did they stopped.

“Do you have something we can take him home in, like a cart?” Jackson asked.

“He can’t be moved, my sister and I took a chance getting him in here but at the time we were not aware of the state of his ribs, moving him right now is too risky.   He will be safe here and we will take care of him until he is able to be moved and no, we don’t have a cart” said Lydia.

“We need to get back and let King Derek know what has happened.  You two wait here and I’ll ride back and get King Derek” said Boyd and he left.  Scott and Jackson looked at each other and Scott went out after him.

“Boyd, I can go back and get the King.”

“I know but I did see how you looked at Allison and Jackson looked at Lydia the same way so you both wait here” he said with a smile and Scott just chuckled and went back inside.

***

When Boyd rode into the inner court he saw King Derek there pacing and when they looked at each other Boyd saw the look of agitation immediately leave the King’s face as the color drained from it; he just looked at Boyd with a blank expression.

“Your Majesty, I need you to come with me” Boyd said and Derek said nothing, he got right back on his horse and Isaac and Danny did the same and they rode out following Boyd. As they rode, Derek had so much he wanted to ask but part of him was afraid of the answers and at the same time everything Stiles kept saying about having a bad feeling and that something was going to happen kept running through his head.  

When they arrived at the cottage, the King’s horse barely stopped before Derek jumped off and as he did the door to the cottage opened and he saw Scott.  Derek said nothing he just ran in and pushed past Scott and stopped when he saw Stiles.

“What happened?” he asked, not really addressing anybody as he got down on his knees next to the bed where Stiles was laying looking battered and broken.  Derek never looked at anybody and he vaguely realized there were two young women in the cottage that bowed when he came in and he listened as Scott and one of the women explained everything that happened.

Derek felt sick, his heart was racing because he couldn’t think of what he would do if he lost Stiles as he knelt there holding Stiles’ hand and then he felt a hand gently touch his and he looked.

“Your Majesty, he is in pretty bad shape but he will be fine it will just take some time” the woman said.

“Your Majesty this is Lydia, she has been taking care of King Stiles and this is her sister Allison” Derek heard Scott say and he turned to see Allison.

“Thank you both, you will be rewarded for all you’ve done” he said.

“We don’t want that Sire, we’re just glad that we were able to help” Allison said.

“Your Majesty, he can’t be moved right now” Lydia said and she explained about his ribs and that is when Derek actually noticed all of Stiles’ injuries.

“As you know we are not far from the castle and my sister and I will keep him protected and comfortable and of course you can come here every day to sit with him.  He should be able to go home relatively soon” Lydia said and for the first time Derek felt like he could breathe again.

“He is going to live then?”

“Oh yes Sire, he will pull through” Lydia said with a warm smile.                

Derek and the Knights stayed most of the rest of the day and well into the night before the left to return to the castle.  Derek was feeling better but he still didn’t like the idea of leaving Stiles behind and worried how Stiles would react if he woke up and he wasn’t there.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

For the next three days Derek was at Allison and Lydia’s cottage everyday all day long and Scott and Jackson both insisted on always going with him.  He knew the reason for that after the first day, Scott liked Allison and Jackson liked Lydia.  

On the fourth day Derek was again seated next to the bed, holding Stiles’ hand and Lydia was talking quietly with Jackson about a book she was reading. 

“Excuse me Your Majesty but Allison would like to speak with you” Scott came over and whispered to him so Derek followed him outside where Allison was waiting.

“Your Majesty, if there was one thing my father always taught me it was to be honest and never be afraid to speak my mind so I wanted to tell you that you cannot continue to come here like this. Now before you say anything, my sister and I completely understand why you are here, King Stiles is your husband and it is only natural for you to want to be here…”

“But Sire you are not sleeping well, if at all, and you look terrible. Not to mention the kingdom still needs to be run and personally speaking I don’t want to have to hear it from King Stiles when he wakes up and sees you looking like you do.  He is going to be very upset with both me and Jackson for not taking care of you” Scott blurted out and Derek just looked at them both.  He looked annoyed but also completely heartbroken.

“All I am suggesting is that you spend your mornings taking care of things at the castle and then come here in the afternoon and trust me Sire, if King Stiles starts to come around on a morning you are not here yet, I will get on my horse and come and get you right away” Allison added.

“Do I really look that bad?” Derek finally said after a few moments.

“You look very tired Sire” Scott said.   After that day Derek agreed to only come in the afternoons after he took care of anything that needed to be taken care of up at the castle.

***

It was the middle of the night when both Lydia and Allison were woken up by moaning and they both looked and realized that King Stiles was starting to come around.   Lydia immediately went to him while Allison got ready to ride up to the castle.

Stiles opened his eyes and looked around, “who are you, where am I?”

“Relax Sire you’re safe, my name is Lydia and this is my sister Allison and you are in our cottage. We brought you here after you fell down the cliff.”

Stiles just stared at her for a minute trying to get his bearings and then everything that happened to him suddenly came back to him. “I remember ducking to avoid a spear and falling off my horse but that is it. Where is my horse, where are my Knights?”

“Your horse is outside with ours Sire, after you fell I waited with your horse until your Knights came along and before you ask King Derek knows what happened and that you are here, in fact he has been here every day since your accident.  Now if you’ll excuse me I promised him that if you came to when he wasn’t here I would ride to the castle to get him.”

Stiles turned and looked and could see it was dark outside, “no please wait until at the least the sun comes up I don’t want you out there alone and by the way how long have I been here?”

“Sire it is either late Friday night or early Saturday morning so you’ve been here about a week and I can take care of myself.”

“Are we within the border of the kingdom?”

“Yes we are why?”

“Then as your King I am ordering you not to leave. I’m sorry I hate doing that, but I really don’t want to worry about you so please just go at first light.  Don’t worry I’ll pretend to still be coming around until he gets here” said Stiles and at first Allison was a little insulted at being ordered but she couldn’t help but smile knowing he was only worried about her.

Stiles went to put his left hand on his head but stopped when he had pain in his shoulder so he tried with his right hand but Lydia grabbed it and stopped him.

“Sorry, but your left shoulder is sore because it was dislocated, it’s fixed now but will still be a little tender. The reason I stopped you from moving your right arm is because you have some broken ribs on the right side and I don’t want you to risk puncturing a lung” Lydia explained.

“What other injuries do I have? I mean I can feel and move my feet so I’m not paralyzed thankfully.”

“You have a cut on your head and aside from the shoulder and ribs most of your injuries were minor and mostly healed at this point.  You must have hit your head shortly after falling and your body was relaxed as you tumbled down.  Had you been conscious when you fell you would have tensed up to brace yourself and may have done further damage, being unconscious you pretty much bounded down like a ragdoll.”

“Are you a physician?” Stiles asked smiling at Lydia.

“No Sire I am not I just read a lot of books. I can tell you have broken ribs by the bruising and swelling but how many or how badly they are broken, I can’t say.”

Stiles looked again and saw it was getting lighter out, “you might as well go and get my clod of a husband up and don’t worry I’ll be sure to moan with my eyes closed so he thinks I’m seeing him for the first time, it will make him happy.”

Both Allison and Lydia couldn’t’ help but chuckle and then Allison left. “Sire I need to ask you something and we don’t have much time but do you see this?” Lydia asked showing Stiles her wrist where there was a small cluster of freckles in a swirl. “When I was putting the bandage on your head I noticed you have the same exact mark behind your right ear.”

Stiles looked at her and instinctively went to touch behind his ear but the pain of moving his right arm stopped him. “I don’t know what you mean? I mean I never looked behind my ears so I never knew it was there but what are you saying, we’re related or something because if you are I need to have a serious conversation with my father.”

“No Sire that is not what I’m saying, we are not related but it’s what this mark means, from what I was told and from what I’ve heard, those born with this mark are magical.  You see my sister and I fled our village one night in the middle of the night with our father.  He couldn’t explain anything at first until we were well away from there and then he told us.  It seems there was a traveling band of people who claimed to be religious people and they felt it was their duty to cleanse the area of evil, including witches and warlocks.  They stated that those born with this particular mark were children of evil and must be destroyed.  Eventually some of them found out we left and were following us, we could only assume that somebody in our village told them I had this mark and that we left in the night.  We were heading here because my father had heard great things about this kingdom and the Hale royal family and at one point my father sent us on ahead while he created a diversion to get the hunters off our trail, we never saw him again.”

Stiles felt sick as he just laid there listening to Lydia’s story and he could see a tear run down her cheek even though she was looking away from him; he reached over and touched her hand.

“Your father was right, this is a good place you’ll be safe here and I will keep your secret.”

“You know that was five years ago and I guess I should tell you we know about King Derek and his knights” she said and at first Stiles wasn’t sure what she was talking about but then he realized she said this was five years ago.

“Wait you mean when I was taken…?”

“Yes Sire we were on our way here and had just come over a ridge when we saw the encampment. We were going to go down and see who it was and if they could help us but as we got closer we saw you and that knight chained up and then we heard the howl.  We both climbed high up in a tree and remained there quietly, watching everything.  We debated on if we should continue on because knowing there were werewolves here had us concerned but at the same time we saw that you were not harmed, they only went after the others.  We eventually came across this place, it was abandoned so we decided to stay and fix it up and made it our own and we’ve been here ever since.”

“Well it is a charming cottage but as you can see it’s five years later and I went from being a servant to the King’s husband and a King myself so you have nothing to fear from King Derek or his knights and you are both more than welcome to come to the castle.”

“Oh we know, my sister has taken a shine to Scott and I like Jackson” she said and they both smiled.

“Oh I’m sorry I got off track about what I was talking about. Anyway this mark is a sign of magical abilities and yes I do have them Sire and I suspect you may as well.”

“Trust me Lydia if I had any abilities to do anything magical I think I would have known it by now.”

“Not if you never had any reason to use it.  You see I could have had you completely healed the moment you fell and rolled down that cliff but my sister ended up bringing the Knights here to see you were alive and then one of them went to get King Derek so they all saw you and how banged up you were. If I had done any magic to heal you, it would have raised suspicion but I can show you how to heal yourself, if you’ll let me?”

Stiles was about to say something but stopped as they both heard horses coming. Lydia got up and went around to the other side of the bed and sat there taking Stiles’ left hand and he closed his eyes and started moaning.  The door opened and Derek ran in and dropped onto the floor taking Stiles’ right hand, “anything?” he asked looking at Lydia.

“No Sire not yet, he’s just been moaning like this, but this is a good sign, he is finally starting to come out of it” she said and then she got up and went to stand with Allison.   They both stood off to the side while Derek held Stiles’ hand.

“Stiles, can you hear me?”

Stiles slowly opened his eyes and looked at Derek, “hey you, I know you, you’re the clod that knocked me down one day and married me the next” he said and Derek laughed.

“Eight years together and three of them married and you still don’t listen to me.  Sometimes I wonder why I love you and then you do that. You smile and it still takes my breath away…well that and your ridiculously hot body” Stiles said groggily and Derek couldn’t help but laugh and then he leaned over and kissed him.

“Where am I, what happened?  Oh hello” he said when he saw Lydia and Allison standing there and they were impressed at how well Stiles was pretending to just be waking up.

“Stiles this is Allison and her sister Lydia, they found you after you fell and have been taking excellent care of you” Derek said.

“Well actually my sister did most of it, she is the one that reads all the medical books” Allison said.

“Thank you ladies but what happened? I remember riding away because we were ambushed and I remember seeing a spear coming at me and I ducked to avoid getting hit but I don’t remember much after that.”

The three of them each told them what they knew about what happened to him and told him that it was almost a week later.

“Wow, I’ve been out of it that long?  The Knights are ok though right?”

“Yes, they were fine and they are fine” Derek said as he kissed the back of Stiles’ hand.

“So doctor Lydia, any idea as to when I might be able to go home?”

“Well the only injury we need to be careful about is your ribs, I don’t know how many are broken and how badly they are broken and my concern is one puncturing your lung but……”

“But what” Derek said looking at her and both Allison and Stiles knew where this was going.

“Your Majesty I might be able to heal him completely now but I’m afraid.”

“What do you mean heal him now and what are you afraid of?” Derek asked.

“She is talking about magic, she might be able to heal King Stiles with magic but we both fear your reaction.”

“Hey, I’m a King and I’m the broken one here and if you think you can fix me with magic then go for it, you have nothing to fear” Stiles said.

“Exactly, I don’t care if you can do magic but why didn’t you say anything earlier?”

“Fear Your Majesty” Lydia said and then she went into the same story she had to told Stiles before he arrived and Stiles even pretended to be hearing the story for the first time.

“I am sorry that you both went through that and you have my guarantee that we will never tolerate any such behavior in our kingdom” Derek said and Stiles squeezed his hand, “oh yea, that’s another reason I love you” he said.

“Uh there is something else” Allison said and they looked at her and she looked at Lydia who nodded her head so Allison told the part of the story that Lydia told Stiles about them being there that night when Derek and his Knights rescued Stiles and Danny and Derek looked at them completely shocked.

“You mean you’ve known about us all this time?  Have you ever…”

“No, we have never said anything to anybody that we can promise you” Allison said cutting him off.

“Well, it seems like there are no more secrets” Stiles said after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence.

Lydia stepped forward and placed her hand on Stiles’ shoulder and quietly said “sana” and Stiles made a face.

“Did that hurt?” Derek asked.

“No, it just felt funny, like something tightened up.”

“I read that when you dislocate your shoulder, the ligaments and tendons get stretched and you could easily dislocate it again, what I did was heal them which basically tightened them back up so you shouldn’t have any further problems” Lydia explained and Stiles started to move his left arm around, “hey that feels great” he said.   She then grabbed a knife and cut open the bandages around his chest, “wow” Stiles said when he saw the bruising.

“This might hurt” she said and Stiles braced himself and held tight to Derek’s hand.  She gently placed her hand on the bruising and when she did Stiles loudly sucked in air.

“Sorry” she said and then again she said “sana” and Stiles tried but eventually he screamed out in pain as they all heard bones popping and grinding.  It didn’t last long but it was very painful and when it was over the bruising was starting to fade away.  Stiles didn’t say anything but he knew why she made it a point to say the word out loud, still thinking about their conversation from earlier. 

“Help me up?” Stiles asked as he slowly swung his legs around and then taking both of Derek’s hands he slowly stood up. “Are you ok?” Derek asked.

“Yea, actually I am. My head hurts still but otherwise I feel fine” he said and he stepped forward and put his arms around Derek and hugged him. “I missed this most of all” he said and Derek gently hugged him back.  Allison and Lydia handed Stiles his shirt and the rest of his stuff and he was ready to go back.

“Everybody is going to be thrilled to see you return, many villagers have been lighting candles and saying prayers for your recovery and return” Derek said.

“Ladies, I can’t thank you both enough for everything you did but are you both going to be ok out here? I mean I know you’ve been here awhile now but I don’t think we have had problems like these marauders  before so please if you feel threatened or have any problems please do not hesitate to come to the castle” Stiles said.

“We know and thank you Sire but we’ll be fine” Allison said and they walked them outside and Derek helped Stiles get on his horse and with a final good-bye he and Derek rode off to return to Hale Castle.

 


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

It was still early in the morning when Derek and Stiles passed through the first set of gates to the castle and some of the villagers were up and starting their day. As Derek and Stiles passed they would stop and bow and Stiles noticed some of them smiling and after they passed people started to clap.  Stiles looked at Derek who smiled and winked at him, “they are happy you’re back” he said.   As the clapping turned into cheering and whistling, more people and more people started to come out of their homes to see what was going on and they too started to cheer the return of King Stiles.

By the time they reached the inner courtyard, many of the guards and castle staff were either looking out of windows or coming outside and Stiles could hear people saying “King Stiles is back” and he just felt overwhelmed.  The Knights came running out, Scott in the lead and he had the biggest smile on his face.  Derek dismounted his horse first and ran over to help Stiles get down, his bones were healed but he was still sore from lying in a bed all week and from the accident so he was slow to get down from his horse.

“Welcome back Sire” one of the servants said as he took the reins and took his horse to the stable.

“Thank you” Stiles said as he put his arm around Derek and leaned on him. 

“Stiles are you sure you’re alright?”

“Yes, my muscles just hurt that’s all. I took a nasty fall and then lying in a bed all that time, I’m still a bit stiff and sore and get that look out of your eye because that is not what I meant by stiff – well at least not yet anyway” he said and Derek laughed.             

“Hey you” somebody said and Stiles turned to see his father standing there and without saying anything he went and hugged him. After a few minutes his father took his face in his hands and looked at him, “are you sure you’re alright?” he asked.

“Yes dad, I’m much better now but what are you doing here, how long have you been here?”

“Derek sent word to me about what happened on Monday and I couldn’t stand being so far away so I came here on Wednesday. I wanted to come see you but everybody assured me you were doing fine so I waited here.”

“I’m glad you are here, on the ride back I was thinking about what happened and was going to send people to bring you back here anyway. Can you say for awhile, I would feel better having you here knowing you’re safe?”

“Sure, the crops came in so I don’t have anything to do at the farm right now.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Stiles said when Derek walked over.

“I wanted to surprise you now come on, let’s get you inside to rest” said Derek.

“I’ve rested enough I actually want to move around to loosen up but I would like to get cleaned up and changed and actually dad can you come with us, there is something I want to talk to you both about.”

His father agreed but he and Derek looked at each other, neither knowing what this could be about. As they headed towards the doors, he stopped and hugged Scott, Jackson and Boyd.

“Thank you for what you did for me and Boyd I understand you got my shoulder back in place so thank you for that.”

“You’re welcome Sire, now you go and get cleaned up and I’ll have Erica make you your favorite breakfast” he said.

“Ooh I love her French Toast, thanks Boyd.”

When Derek, Stiles and his father got to the room Stiles grabbed clean clothes and went to get cleaned up, Derek stood close by in case Stiles needed help.

“Do you know what he wants to talk about?” John asked.

“No, I have no idea and he didn’t say anything about needing to talk about something on our way back.”

When Stiles was finished and dressed he went to take the bandage off his head, “shit” he said.

“What’s the matter” Derek said in a panic.

“Nothing, I took the bandage off my head but it pulled the scab so it’s bleeding again” Stiles said so he took a rag and held it over the cut on his forehead.  When he came out of the bathroom the food arrived but Derek was on him to look at the cut, “its fine but I need you to do me a favor, look behind my right ear and tell me if you see anything.”

Derek looked at him but then he looked behind Stiles’ ear, “I don’t see anything, what am I looking for?”

“Are you talking about your birthmark?” 

“You know about it?”

“Stiles I’m your father, I know every mark on body, well at least when you were little but what about it.”

“I don’t think it’s a birthmark dad.”

“Wait, what are you both talking about?”

“When Stiles was born he had a cluster of freckles behind his right ear that kind of looked like a swirl, we assumed it was a birthmark.  It was pretty prominent when you were a baby but as you grew it got smaller and faded a little” his father said and then he came over to look.

“See, its right there” he said pointing it out to Derek who was able to see it.

“Derek I have a confession to make, when you came I had already come to, Allison was dressed and all set to ride here to get you because she promised she would but it was still dark and I didn’t like the idea of her riding alone.  Now at the time I didn’t realize how close to the castle the cottage actually is, but I still didn’t like it so I ordered her not to leave until first light and you know how I hate pulling rank on people. Anyway when she did leave Lydia told me she noticed the mark behind my ear and she has the same one on her wrist.  I thought she was trying to tell me we were related or something but she said that is why she and Allison fled their village with their father, she was told that the mark is a sign of magic and those witch hunters were looking for anybody with that mark.”

Derek and John didn’t say anything and then Stiles took the rag away from his head and placed his hand over the cut and said “sana” and when he pulled his hand away the cut was gone, the bleeding had stopped and there was no mark, Stiles just looked at them both and could tell by their expressions that it worked and what Lydia told him was true.

Stiles went into full detail of his conversation with Lydia before Derek had arrived and explained to both of them that that is why she said the word out loud when she was healing his shoulder and ribs and why she never did anything with the cut on his head, she wanted him to try it himself, “please don’t look at me like that” he said getting upset at the way his father and Derek were looking at him.  “I can’t stand the idea that you both might hate me” he said wiping the tear from his face that escaped his eye.

“Hey, don’t you ever think that, you are my son and I could never hate you and I’m sorry about the way I’m looking at you, I’m just trying to wrap my head around all of this.”

“Magic abilities or not Stiles, I love you and I really don’t think there is anything you could ever do or say to make me hate you” Derek said as he hugged Stiles and kissed the spot on his forehead where the cut used to be.  They sat and ate in silence after that and even though Stiles loved Erica’s French toast he was only eating to be nice, he really no longer had an appetite.

“Excuse me, I’ll be right back” Derek said when he finished and left the room.  Stiles watched him go but didn’t ask.

When Derek was outside their chambers he looked out some of the windows and found who he was looking for and immediately went outside.  He didn’t want to risk that Stiles may look out the window so when he got to the front doors of the castle he let out a low growl and all his knights turned at once, he pointed two fingers at Scott and Jackson and waved them over.

“Stiles woke up very early this morning as did Allison and Lydia so they may be sleeping but I would like you to bring them here later today, in particular Lydia.”

“Of course Sire, is everything ok?” Scott asked.

“Oh everything’s fine, they aren’t in any trouble or anything Stiles just needs to talk to Lydia about a few things that he didn’t think of before that’s all.”

“Ok but why do you want Allison?” Scott asked.

“I don’t, but I know you do so if Jackson was going to get Lydia you might as well go along and get Allison of course if you decided to stay behind with Allison, I totally understand” Derek said with a smile and then he went back inside.  As he was walking down the hall he saw his father-in-law carrying the tray from breakfast, “you don’t have to do that” he said.

“I don’t mind besides Stiles went to lie down.”

“Is he feeling ok?”

“Yea, I just think the early morning and then the food caught up to him. You look a bit tired yourself so why don’t you go and lay down with him, he’s waiting for you.”

Derek entered their chamber and Stiles lifted his head from his pillow and smiled, he didn’t say anything he just patted the bed and Derek went and climbed onto the bed with him.   As soon as he did, Stiles moved over and snuggled up against him putting his head on Derek’s chest. They didn’t say anything, Stiles just laid there letting the beat of Derek’s heart lull him to sleep while Derek gently kissed the top of his head and rubbed his back until he too fell asleep.

They only slept for about an hour because Derek was woken up when he felt the entire weight of Stiles on top of him, kissing him and working to get his clothes off.  Derek didn’t say anything he helped Stiles in getting his clothes off and then helped Stiles get naked as well, all the while kissing each other and feeling each other’s bodies.  It had been just about a week since they had made love and it was evident they were both desperate to make up for lost time.

***

“That was amazing” Derek said as they lay there, sweating trying to catch their breath.

“It’s all your parents’ fault, the perfect combination of their genes created all of this and I just can’t get enough of it” Stiles said and Derek laughed.

“Well come on let’s get up and get dressed we have company coming.”

“Who?”

“When I left the room this morning I asked Jackson to bring Lydia here because I just got the feeling that you needed to really talk to her and if she can help you understand and perhaps show you more stuff you can do, then maybe you’ll feel better about all of this.”

Stiles just looked at him, no expression on his face, part of him was a bit annoyed that Derek did this because he just assume forget about it but part of him realized just how much Derek loved him that he wanted him to understand what he might be able to do, he also realized that Derek was really accepting of all of this.

“Stiles why do you look like you’re about to burst into tears?”

“Because I realized that you love me enough to accept that I might be different and are even willing to get me help.”

“Stiles, I am the last person in this kingdom and probably the world to be judgmental of anybody that is different, I’m a werewolf for Christ’s sake” he said and couldn’t help but laugh. 

“Now if you’ll excuse me but I am taking my genetically perfect self into the shower, care to join me?”  Stiles smiled and jumped out of bed chasing Derek into the bathroom.

A little while later there was a knock on the chamber door and then one of the guards opened the door, Lydia came in with Jackson and she looked a bit nervous but both Derek and Stiles smiled at her, “hello Lydia it’s good to see you again” Derek said walking over to her.  “Look I’ll leave you two to chat privately” he said and he left with Jackson.

“Your Majesty, Erica asked me to take you to the throne room, she wants to talk to you about something” Jackson said quietly as they walked so Derek headed to the throne room.

“Hello Sire, Jackson said you wanted to see me?” Lydia asked still acting nervous.

“Not exactly, it seems my husband thought we should talk.  You see when you healed my injuries, you healed my shoulder and ribs and I know that you said the word out loud for a reason because you didn’t heal my head.  When we got back I got cleaned up and changed and removed the bandage from my head which pulled off a large scab and it started to bleed again.  In front of Derek and my father I healed it myself and Derek thought that perhaps I would feel better about all of this if we talked more about it.”

Lydia didn’t say anything but she couldn’t help but smile as Stiles spoke.  He sat down at a small table in the room and motioned for Lydia to join him.  Lydia placed two books on the table when she sat down and slid them over to Stiles.

“What are these?”

“These are some books that I read and no longer need, they helped me understand my abilities and I was able to learn some things, like how to heal injuries, so I brought them with me to give to you.”

Stiles just looked at her for a moment, “you know it seems you and Derek want me to learn about this but I just assume forget about it.”

“How long have you had the dreams?” she asked suddenly and Stiles looked at her.

“I know you’ve had them because I’ve had them as well.  Here let me tell you about them and stop me if I’m wrong.  In these dreams you are either in a clearing in some woods that are not familiar to you, it is either a bright sunny day or it is at night and there is a huge fire burning and there are people all around.  People you never saw before and don’t know but you find yourself talking to some of them like you are old friends.  Or sometimes you find yourself walking the streets of a small village, again a place you’ve never been, but there you are walking and talking with people you don’t know.  They are not all members of royalty, perhaps some are, others are regular people like the staff here, my sister and I and none of it matters but there is something about all of these strangers around you, there is a common bond.”

She stopped there and she could tell by the look on his face, she was describing dreams he had so she continued.

“I can’t remember exactly when I started having these dreams, I think it was shortly after my father told us about the witch hunters, and what the mark on my wrist meant but I was never bothered by the dreams and I never mentioned them because I just thought they were dreams.  There was a time when I thought perhaps I might have been predicting the future in my sleep but if I was, well it hasn’t happened yet because I never found myself in a clearing or in a village with strangers.  I started to pay more attention to the dreams and tried to remember details about them when I woke up and I remember that at some point, I would always look over and see a man talking to some other people, and it was always the same man but I never saw his face.  For some reason I never walked over to him and he never turned around but then one day I met that man in person and it was you.  When you came tumbling down the hillside you landed face down and when I ran over to you I had to stop and I just stood there looking down at you, it took me a moment to finally realize why the shirt you were wearing and the back of your head looked familiar to me, it was because you were the man in those dreams.” 

“Now I don’t know about you but I didn’t have these dreams every night, sometimes I would have them two nights in a row and then it could be weeks or a month before I would have it again but right before you came into my life I started having them more and more and ever since you’ve been at our cottage until last night, I have had the dream every night.”

She stopped and for what seemed like forever, they just sat and stared at each other and then Stiles finally found the courage to talk.

“Yes I’ve had those dreams, I’ve had them ever since I was little and like you I didn’t think anything of them because they weren’t bad dreams.  The funny thing is, the night of the wedding I was at, I had that dream again and like you is saw a woman standing talking with other people and like you I didn’t go over to see her and she didn’t turn around but when I came too, there you were.  I don’t know perhaps it was the color of your hair, but I knew instantly that you were the woman in that dream.  But can I ask you, what does it mean?”

“I don’t know Sire but I have a theory that those people we are with, the ones we don’t know but talk with, I think they are people like us, people with this same mark. I think they are other witches and warlocks and somehow we are all gathering together in our dreams.”

“I was actually thinking the same thing Lydia, but we don’t do anything we just all seem to talk. I don’t know about you but I never know what I am talking about or what anybody else is talking about, I never seem to remember that and I don’t recall us gathering around to practice any kind of witchcraft or anything.”

“No you’re right, I don’t know what we talk about either I just think that we are connected somehow and we are just letting each other know that we are not alone you know what I mean? I think in our dreams we are gathering to let each other know that there are others out there just like us and perhaps someday we might meet some of those people in person.”

***

Derek entered the throne room and Erica was there waiting for him, “Jackson said you wanted to talk to me about something.”

“Yes Sire I did.  As you know most of us that live here in the village work in the castle and a few of us were talking and we wanted to have a celebration in honor of King Stiles return.”

“Really, I think that is very nice and I know Stiles will be thrilled, but if you’re looking for my permission you have it.”

“Well being that he just returned we realized he is still recovering from everything so we weren’t going to do it until next Saturday and we actually need your help.”

“Ok, what do you need from me?”

“We want this to be surprise so we need two things from you actually.  One, we need you not to say anything and two, we need you get King Stiles away from the castle for a bit next Saturday. We were thinking of doing this in the inner court yard around mid-day next Saturday and while I was waiting here for you I got an idea.  I will make you both a large picnic lunch and perhaps you can take him up to the lake for a picnic. Do you think he will be willing to go?”

“Oh I’m sure I can convince him to go and it sounds like a great idea” Derek said smiling. 

“Well you don’t need to do anything, some of us are going to form a committee to make all the plans so you just need to keep it a secret and get him out of here.”

Derek agreed and they both left the throne room.

 


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

It was a quick week and each day Stiles was feeling better and better.  Allison was actually hired to train the Knights and guards in the use of other weapons, she showed them how to have hand to hand combat with various knives and she was an expert in concealing knives in clothing.  She also was training them how to use a bow and arrow as well as a crossbow, even Stiles trained in the event he had another situation like he did before. 

Derek kept quiet about the party the staff and villagers were going to be throwing, though he did let his father-in-law know about it and he actually volunteered to help out in the kitchen making food for the party.  The one thing that did worry both Derek and John was the fact that Stiles did not spend time with Lydia learning anything and when Derek finally asked him about that, he very clearly indicated that he didn’t want to know about it.  He couldn’t explain why but the idea just scared him and he just assumed not talk about it any further.

***

_Stiles found himself in a village and he knew he was having the dream again because it was a village he was not familiar with and some of the people he remembered from past dreams were there and that struck him as odd, only some of them were there, where were the others?  He looked around and figured that since quite a few were missing, then they weren’t having the dream or perhaps they just weren’t sleeping at this time, although he couldn’t help but remember that no matter what, when he had this dream there was always a lot of people around._

_As he started to make his way through the village he suddenly noticed something – nobody was talking. In these dreams he always saw groups of people standing around talking and laughing but not this time, instead they were just standing around alone, nobody was even looking at anybody else and then he noticed some seemed different, almost transparent.   This wasn’t right, something was going on and whatever it was, it clearly wasn’t good.   He looked down at himself and he seemed fine, perfectly solid looking so whatever was making some of them transparent, wasn’t affecting him.  He saw a guy he remembered talking to before in these dreams and went over to him, “hey do you know what is going on?” he asked but the guy just looked at him, there was no reaction, no emotion in his expression, he just had this blank look on his face, it was like there was no life in his eyes._

_“Hey can you hear me?”_

***

“Stiles……Stiles…..STILES”

“Huh, what’s the matter?”

“You were talking in your sleep, you were asking me or somebody if they knew what was going on?” Derek said with a look of worry on his face.

“I was?   Oh it was just a dream, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to wake you” Stiles said snuggling up against Derek, pretending it was nothing.  He pretended to fall back to sleep but his mind was going a mile a minute.

Stiles didn’t think he would be able to get back to sleep but he did because the next thing he knew he was being woken up by Derek kissing him and whispering in his ear.

“Hey sleepy head wake up, I have a surprise for you” he whispered and Stiles smiled and opened his eyes. 

“Waking up with you every morning is all I ever need” he said as he slipped his arms around Derek’s neck and hugged him and that is when he saw it, a large basket sitting on the table.

“Is that a picnic basket?”

“Yes it is my dear and we are going to the lake.  It is a beautiful day and I thought you and I could get away for a few hours so I went to the kitchen and asked them for a picnic basket and in a matter of minutes, they handed me that so come on get up and get dressed.”

Stiles was thrilled so he jumped out of bed but then stopped and looked at Derek, “what’s the matter?”

“All the years that I was your servant I thought I knew everything you owned, so I have to say seeing you in shorts and t-shirt is surprising.”

“Oh yea, I’ve had these but becoming King I never had much need to wear them so they were packed away but I decided it was time to get them out again.  The t-shirt is a bit small but do I look ok?”

“Oh trust me you look great and the t-shirt is a perfect fit if you ask me” Stiles said slowly raking his eyes over Derek’s upper body and how the t-shirt clung to and showed off all the right parts.

“Well if feels a bit constricting to me, I might need help getting it off but up at the lake so the longer you stand there staring, the longer I am stuck in this” Derek said and he never saw Stiles move so fast to grab clothes and get cleaned up.   The lake wasn’t far from the castle so they decided to walk there to enjoy the day and as soon as they passed through the gates to head to the lake, everybody went into action setting up the courtyard for the celebration.

When they got to the lake Derek put the basket down and he had ‘that’ look in his eye and with a slight smile on his face he started to back away.  Stiles watched as Derek slowly undid the button and zipper on the shorts he was wearing and watched as they dropped and Derek stepped out of them.

Stiles started walking towards him, well more like stumbling, as he fumbled to take off his own clothes as Derek continued to strip.  They eventually were standing at the water’s edge and Derek only had on one article of clothing, and that was the tight fitting t-shirt.  Stiles avoided the temptation to grab Derek’s erection to slide his hands under the shirt and slowly push it up, kissing every defined muscle on Derek’s stomach as we went.   Stiles put his arms around Derek and started kissing him but Derek playfully pushed him away and dove into the lake laughing.

“Oh you are so going to get it mister” Stiles said and ran in after him.

***

“Lydia, are you ready to go” Allison asked as she came out of her room and she found Lydia sitting with her head in her hand.

“Lydia, what’s wrong?”

“Oh nothing just a slight headache, I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure? We don’t have to go.”

“No I’ll be fine, besides the boys will come and get us anyway” she said so they left for the castle.

***

Derek had secretly arranged for Isaac to let him know when everything was ready and once everything was set up Isaac headed out and stayed hidden in the woods.  When he saw them, they were lying on the blanket talking, “everything is ready” Isaac said quietly, knowing Derek would hear him.  After he said it, he watched as Derek discreetly looked his way and flashed his eyes, the signal that they would head back.

“Well come on my love, we need to get back.”

“Oh do we have to, it’s so nice here” Stiles said rolling on top of Derek.

“I know but I have another surprise for you so we need to get back.”

“Ok, what is with all the surprises today? It’s not my birthday or our anniversary.”

“I know, it’s just because I love you” Derek said and they got up and packed everything up and headed back to the castle.

When they entered the courtyard Derek looked to see Stiles’ expression when he saw tables set up everywhere along with balloons and banners and then a large banner dropped on the front of the castle that said ‘WELCOME BACK KING STILES’ and suddenly people appeared out of everywhere and they all shouted surprise.  Stiles was stunned and he looked at Derek, “they wanted to do this to welcome you back.  They didn’t want to do it last week because they thought it would be too much for you.  This was all the work of the staff and the villagers, I only had to get out of here so they could set up and surprise you.”

Stiles didn’t know what to say, tears filled his eyes at everything they all did for him.  Even though he was a King he still felt like a regular person and he couldn’t believe that they did all of this for him.

“I don’t know what to say, thank you everybody. I don’t think there are any other Kings or Queens in all the kingdom’s who are as blessed and lucky as we are to have people like you all, we are truly the lucky ones” he said and everybody applauded and then Derek took Stiles by the hand and they went to sit at one of the tables.   There was music playing and the field where the Knights and guards practiced was set up for games for the kids. 

Stiles was having a great time and what he really enjoyed was that he and Derek were not sitting at a separate table for just them, they were sitting with regular villagers, as were the Knights and Stiles couldn’t believe the number of gifts he received, all hand-made by people and he planned to put them all on display.   It was a great day and things were going really well until suddenly the sound of glass breaking caught everybody’s attention.  Stiles turned to see Lydia had dropped her plate and had grabbed the edge of a table, she was pale and looked like she was about to collapse.  She looked right at Stiles and he saw her mouth the words ‘help us’ before she passed out in Jackson’s arms.

“Jackson, get her inside, take her to my old room” Stiles said jumping up about to head inside but then somebody screamed and he and Derek turned to look.  Everybody was looking as the smoke from the fire where food was being cooked seemed to be turning into a shape in mid-air.  Everybody had stopped and the entire courtyard had gone silent as they all watched the smoke take the shape of a face and then it spoke.

“Surrender the witch or I will lay waste your kingdom and all who reside there” the male voice said and then the smoke broke apart and rose up normally.  For a few minutes everybody stood there in stunned silence but then Stiles snapped himself out of it and ran into the castle, he was followed by Derek, his father and the Knights. 

“Allison, under my bed is a book and a staff, please go and get them and bring them here” Lydia said as Jackson laid her down on the bed but Allison was too hysterical, she just held Lydia’s hand and knelt down beside the bed.

“I’ll go” Scott said and ran out of the room.

“Where are you going?” Derek said when he saw Scott.

“Lydia needs something from the cottage, I’m going to get it” he said and left.

Derek and Stiles entered the room and soon Isaac, Danny and Boyd joined them, John also came but stood quietly by the door watching.  Lydia was lying on the bed and Jackson got a chair for Allison who sat there holding her hand while Jackson sat on the bed by her feet.  It wasn’t long when Scott returned and he held up the book and staff and Allison just nodded to confirm that was what she wanted.

“What are those?” Stiles asked.

“She asked for them, I don’t really know what they are. She was out one day a few years ago, I had no idea where she went but when she came back she had those. I wanted to ask her what they were but part of me figured it was probably best that I didn’t know” said Allison.

“What was that voice, who was it and what did he say?” Jackson asked.

“The smoke from the fire took the shape of a face and he said to surrender the witch or he would lay waste to the kingdom” Derek said.

“What witch?” Jackson asked and that is when Allison, Derek and Stiles realized the Knights didn’t know so they went into the explanation of the mark that Stiles and Lydia share. 

“Stiles you need to find me, find me Stiles, help us” Lydia mumbled and everybody looked at Stiles.  He went and sat on the bed taking hold of Lydia’s other hand, “I’m right here” he said.

“Find me Stiles, please time is running out.  Somnus…somnus” she said before going quiet again.

“What was that she said?” Derek asked but Stiles didn’t answer.  He lay down on the bed next to Lydia and continued to hold her hand and then he turned to Derek and held out his other hand, “don’t let go” he said.

Derek pulled up a chair and held tight to Stiles’ hand, “never” he said and then Stiles laid his head down and looked past Derek to see his father just standing there watching.  His father just looked but Stiles could see the encouragement in his father’s eyes.

“Somnus” he said and he immediately fell asleep.

***

_Stiles opened his eyes and he was in the woods, in the clearing where he sometimes dreamt he was and it was a bright beautiful day but something was definitely wrong, at first he didn’t see anybody but then he looked around some more and he started to see some of the others.  Just like the last dream when he was in the village, there were only a few of the many people he would see and just like in the village they weren’t talking.  Some were lying on the ground, others were sitting against trees. Some could barely keep their eyes open while others appeared to be unconscious.  Stiles looked down at his hands, he felt a pressure on both of them but there was nothing there and then he remembered, he was holding Lydia’s hand with his left hand and Derek was holding his right hand.  He couldn’t help but smile because he could tell Derek was holding his hand tightly.  He looked around again, trying to find Lydia but he couldn’t’ see her so he started walking around the clearing and as he got closer to the tree line he could see more of the others among the trees.  He stopped when he saw a guy he remembered  talking with once, he didn’t know his name but that never seemed to matter in this place and just as he was about to say something, the guy became more and more transparent until he eventually disappeared.  Stiles knew that this was not a good sign and his heart was in his throat._

_“LYDIA WHERE ARE YOU” he shouted and noticed his voice echoed. After a few minutes he heard rustling in the trees and then she appeared.  She was leaning on the tree for support, “Stiles” she said as he ran to catch her before she fell._

_“Lydia please tell me what is happening, I don’t understand.”_

_“There is a book, I asked Allison to get it.”_

_“Scott got it, I saw him bring it back, what about it.”_

_“Only people like us can read it Stiles, to anybody else it’s just a bunch of symbols that make no sense but in the book is a legend. I thought it was just that, a legend, but apparently it was a prophecy. It tells of a warlock, one who is greedy and evil and he learns how to take the magic abilities away from the rest of us.  Do you remember the story I told you about the witch hunters, well I think the one who was the leader is the warlock that book tells about.  They weren’t looking to cleanse villages of evil; he was killing our kind for his own gain.  The book also tells of another warlock, the one who has the power to stop him, to destroy him Stiles you are that other warlock, you are the only one who can stop him.”_

_“Lydia I only learned how to heal myself, I never read anything in the books you gave me. I probably couldn’t even levitate a feather if I tried.”_

_“You don’t need to read anything Stiles the ability is already within you, you were born with the gifts that this other warlock is stealing.  Stiles haven’t you noticed, of all of us that gathered in this dream you are the only one who is not affected that is because he can’t harm you but you can destroy him.”_

_“Lydia I don’t…..”_

_“Stiles you don’t have a choice, it is you and you alone that can save me, save all of us and the kingdom. Stiles just take the staff and once you grasp it, you will know what to do. Please Stiles you are our only hope.  Those that look transparent are close to dying.”_

_“I saw a guy I remembered talking to before and I watched as he became more and more transparent until he vanished, does that mean he…?”_

_“Yes, the means he has died and as you can see by those of us that are left, we are not far behind.”_

***

With a gasp, Stiles’ eyes flew open and he practically jumped out of bed, startling everybody else.

“Stiles what happened, how did you do that?” Derek asked.

“I don’t know I just had a feeling that the word she was saying meant sleep.”

“But why did you have to sleep?” Allison asked.

Stiles turned around and saw his dad still standing there just observing everything. 

“Ever since I was a kid I would have these dreams, I never thought anything about them and never said anything because they weren’t bad dreams.  In these dreams I would find myself in the woods in a clearing, sometimes during the day, other times at night, or I would find myself in a village, again either day or night.  This village and the woods were places I’ve never been to and have yet to see when I am awake but no matter where I am, there is always a large group of people there as well. I’ve spoken with these people in the dream but I’ve never laid eyes on any of them and I could not tell you anybody’s name, but that all changed after I fell.  While I was unconscious I had the dream and I remember standing in the village talking with a couple of people and I looked over to see the back of a girl who was talking to others.  I knew that I knew her, I never saw her face and I never went to speak to her in the dream but I knew who she was and when I woke up I finally saw her face, it was Lydia.  She told me that she would always see the back of a man and had the same feelings and when I fell down that hillside and landed, I landed face down and she knew I was the one from the dream.  In the dream, my title does not matter; nothing matters because we are all equal there.  The other people in the dream are like me and like Lydia, they are witches and warlocks, we all have the same mark and apparently when we sleep we meet in our dreams.”

“But something has changed, hasn’t it son?” Stiles father said.

“Yes and it’s not good.”

“What do you mean?” Boyd asked and Stiles turned to Derek.

“Do you remember when you woke me up the other night because I was talking in my sleep; well I was having that dream. I was in a village and some of the others were there, but there were less of them and none of them were talking. They seemed weak and sick and some were transparent and I shouted for one of them to tell me what was happening.  Just now, when Lydia asked me to find her, I knew she meant in the dream that is why she mumbled the incantation for sleep. I found her in the woods and there were even less of us and I watched as a guy I remember talking to many times in the dream became more and more transparent until he eventually disappeared completely.”

“Does that mean he woke up?” Derek asked hopefully but already knowing what it meant.

“No, it meant he died.  Lydia explained to me…” Stiles stopped and looked on the table and there was the book and the staff and he went over and opened it.  Just as she had said, it was nothing but symbols but he could understand it perfectly.  His father walked up behind him and looked over his shoulder, “do you understand that?” he asked and Stiles nodded yes.

“Finish what you were going to say son.”

“Oh, Lydia explained to me that in this book it tells of a legend, a legend of a warlock that learns to take magic from the others.  She said that the witch hunters that came after her when she was young were not doing anything of a religious nature; she now believes that the leader of that group is the warlock that is stealing the powers from others. He wasn’t killing them for good, he was, and is, killing them for his own personal gain.”

“Ok so what does this mean for you?” Derek asked.

“The legend also tells of another warlock, one born with powers, the powers to stop him and apparently I am that warlock.”

There was silence for a moment as they all looked around at each other and then Stiles happened to glance out the window, in the distance he saw dark storm clouds but something told him that this was no ordinary storm.  He looked down and people were still celebrating in the courtyard, “Derek, I need you and the Knights to go down and get everybody inside the castle, gather them in the throne room they will be safe there.”

Derek didn’t question it he got up and the Knights followed him out of the room to get the villagers inside.  Stiles turned to see Allison was preoccupied tending to Lydia and then he turned to his father, “dad I don’t know if I can do this” he said.

“Son, I don’t know if you can either and neither does Derek, or his knights or anybody here, but there is one person who knows you can and she is laying right over there, dying.  It is because of her and her sister that you are here now Stiles and you had that accident what, two weeks ago?   She has only known you a short time but she knows you can do this and that is all that really matters. Now did she say you had to learn what was in this book?”

“No she said I just needed this staff and once I held it I would know what to do.”  His father looked at the staff; it was about five feet long and made of wood.  It looked like a tree branch but it was smooth and shiny and at the top, wrapped around smaller branches, there was a crystal, he picked up the staff and held it and then handed it to his son.

Stiles looked at it; hesitant to take it at first, but then there was a flash of lightening and a very loud clap of thunder.  Allison screamed and they could all hear the people scream and start to panic. Stiles ran to the window and the remaining villagers were running to get inside, the wind had picked up sending the tables flying across the courtyard, some becoming airborne and flying up and away. Another lightning bolt struck, shattering the ground where it hit and Stiles knew this was it, he knew had to act now.  He turned from the window, Allison was looking nervous and his father was still standing there holding the staff, “wait here” he said and ran out of the room to his and Derek’s chamber next door.  When he returned he had two swords, one he put on the table near his father and the other he propped up against the wall near Allison.

“Not that I think you’ll need these but just in case” he said and then he went over to his father. He looked at the staff, his hands sweating and with a deep breath he grabbed it and immediately fell to his knees.  The staff was locked to his hand and with his left hand he reached around to his right ear, clearly in pain.               

“Stiles what is it” his father asked holding his son as they both knelt on the floor. His father pried his hand away from his ear and saw that the swirl behind his ear was glowing bright red but Stiles couldn’t talk all he could do was moan in agony.

***

_Stiles found himself in yet another strange place but this was a dark and scary place to be.  Just like before when he could feel Derek holding his hand, he could feel his father’s grip on his shoulders, he could feel himself kneeling on the floor yet he was standing in this place.  He could hear his father distant voice saying “it’s alright son, I’m here, just hold on”._

_He was startled when there was a flash of lightning and then the thunder, wind and driving rain started.  When the lightning flashed he caught glimpses of ruins, buildings that were mostly rubble, streets overgrown with weeds and then another flash and he saw her in the distance.  He ran towards her, “Lydia can you hear me?  Oh God please don’t be dead” he said as he rolled her over and held her, pushing her wet hair away from her face.  He noticed that she wasn’t transparent like before and briefly thought that this was a good sign until he heard that voice again._

_“Surrender” the voice said in a whisper and Stiles looked around but saw nobody._

_“Who are you, why are you doing this?   Spare her and I’ll do whatever you want” he said looking around._

_“It’s not her that I want, when I said surrender the witch I was taking about you” the voice said._

_“Well here I am, so let her go.”_

_“Surely you noticed she is solid looking again, I have stopped draining her of her power….for now at least.”_

_“Well I’m here, I’m surrendering now so just let her go, let her live.”_

_“How noble of you but I’m afraid it’s not that simple you see I don’t want you to surrender, I want you to fight.  We can’t do that here in this place, in this dream world but look around do you know where this place is?”_

_“No, I have no idea” Stiles said looking around catching glimpses as the lightning continued to flash._

_“Before the apocalypse, this was known at Beacon Hills, it is here where you and I will meet and do battle, it is here where I will destroy you and all that you love, it is here where I will be the most powerful warlock the world has seen.”  As the voice spoke it went from whispering to shouting to maniacal laughter and then everything stopped.  The wind, the rain, the thunder and lightning, it all just stopped.  Stiles looked down and Lydia was still out of it, “I won’t let this happen Lydia, I will stop him and save you and any others of our kind that are still alive.”_

Just then Stile saw something out of the corner of his eye and he looked up, there hovering in front of him was the tiniest ball of light.  He looked at it and wondered what it was and then he noticed another one had appeared.  It a few moments he realized that there were many of them, surrounding him and Lydia and just hovering there.  There were so many that it wasn’t as dark as before and he didn’t know why or what it was about these lights but he wasn’t afraid.  He watched as one moved down and landed on the back of his right hand and when it did, he felt warmth and then he watched in amazement as more followed.   All over his body, these little balls of light landed on him and he could fell them boring their way through his skin and into his body.   He felt no pain, only warmth and an overpowering feeling of love. When the last on made its way into him he suddenly felt stronger, he suddenly knew everything, he knew what had to be done and how to do it. 

 


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

John and Allison were both startled when Stiles suddenly lifted his head, taking in a loud deep breath.  
“Stiles are you ok?’ John asked but Stiles just looked around the room, “yea” he said quietly and then he realized he was still holding the staff; he dropped and flexed his hand and fingers.  There was a loud crack of thunder that shook the windows and Stiles looked to see that the storm was still raging outside.

“Stop” he said quietly, and just like that it stopped.  The clouds vanished, the wind and rain stopped and the sun was back but even inside the castle, everybody could tell it was now too quiet.  Derek and the Knights were in the throne room helping those that were injured and everybody stopped and looked out the windows when it got quiet. 

Stiles got up and went over to the bed to check on Lydia, “she hasn’t moved or said anything” Allison said with tears in her eyes.  “She’s going to be ok” Stiles said with a smile and then he held his hands out over Lydia’s body and said “protect her”.  With a gasp Lydia opened her eyes and she smiled at both Allison and Stiles, “I knew you were the one” she said weakly.

“You just stay here and rest, no matter what happens he will not be able to harm you again” he said as he brushed some hair out of her face.  Stiles turned to leave and his father moved to get in front of him, he didn’t say anything he just had to look at his son, “I know what I need to do dad and don’t worry I’ll be fine” he said.  John just grabbed Stiles and hugged him tight, “I can’t lose you too son so please be careful and come back to me.”

“I will dad don’t worry, I will come back.”   Stiles left to go to his and Derek’s room next door and after a few minutes he returned to get the staff.  Allison, Lydia and John all looked at him with their mouths hanging open.  Stiles had gotten changed and not into regular clothes, he was wearing his official Royal clothes, the ones only used when entertaining visiting dignitaries, he was even wearing his crown.

Stiles couldn’t help but smile at the looks on their faces, “what’s the matter” he asked.

“Is this a formal affair?” his father asked.

“No but in the dreams we never knew anything about each other, we didn’t know names only faces so maybe if this guy realizes I’m a King with the backing of an army of guards, then maybe he’ll back off.”

“He’s an evil warlock Sire, your title and army of guards won’t matter to him, it will just be more fun for him” Lydia said.

“You know Lydia, I think I already knew that but it’s worth a shot anyway” he said.  He grabbed the staff and with one final hug from his father he left the room.

***

Derek had just finished putting a bandage on the knee of a young boy who fell during the rush to get inside when suddenly everybody got quiet.  He looked around and everybody was facing the doors and all at once everybody got down on one knee and bowed their heads.  Confused, Derek stood up and turned around; standing in the doorway was Stiles dressed in his full Royal attire. Derek looked at him, clearly confused and Stiles just smiled and with one finger motioned for Derek to join him.

As Derek started walking Stiles took a few steps back and once Derek cleared the doorway he turned and watched the heavy wooden doors slowly close on their own.  With one eyebrow cocked he turned to look at Stiles who was just smiling at him. 

Derek was about to ask what was going on but he never got the chance because Stiles had stepped forward and kissed him deeply.  Derek pulled Stiles against him as much as he could and held him in one of the tightest hugs that Stiles ever felt.  He could tell that Derek was afraid for him, afraid he wasn’t going to be coming back.

“Hey, I’m going to be fine” he said and Derek pulled back, “I can’t Stiles, I can’t go on without you.  You saw what happened to me when you first ran away, I wouldn’t be able to function of you didn’t come back.”

“I know my love but between what Lydia said and the way I feel, I am confident that I am more powerful” he said.  “Come, walk me outside” Stiles said.  Derek took his hand and they went to go outside. When they did the courtyard was a mess, there was food and drink all over the ground. The tables that didn’t blow away were lying on the ground broken apart, all the plates were shattered. Stiles simply waved the staff from left to right and everything was put back to normal.

“Amazing” Derek said and Stiles looked at him and smiled. 

“Lydia said all I had to do was take this staff and I would know what to do so I did.”

“What happened?”

“My hand became locked to it, I couldn’t let it go if I tried and the mark behind my ear started to burn and I fell to the floor. I was transported to a dark place but I felt my father holding me and telling me everything was going to be alright. Kind of like when I went into the dream world, I felt myself holding Lydia’s hand and I could feel you holding my right hand.”

“Where was this dark place, what happened there?”

“It was the ruins of the old city of Beacon Hills and he spoke to me.  It is where we will meet and do battle. When he said surrender the witch he wasn’t talking about Lydia, he was talking about me but something amazing happened.  All of these tiny little balls of light appeared and then they started to land on my body and bore their way into me. It didn’t hurt and I felt this overwhelming feeling of warmth, and love and power.  I think those lights were the ones that have died, I think they came to me and gave me their strength to help me fight.”

“But I thought he took all their magic and that is why they died?” asked Derek.

“So did I but maybe not, maybe he could only take so much from them perhaps their true essence survived and they gave what they had left to me.  I don’t know I’ll have to read that book when I get back to find out, I’ll have to read about the legend that Lydia mentioned.”

“So now what happens?”

“So now I go to do battle my love and don’t look so sad. I’m not frightened at all. I know should be a little scared but I’m not.  I’m not being overly confident either, I just know that I am going to win I can’t explain it any other way.  Keep everybody inside because before I leave I am going to put a spell around the entire castle, it will prevent anybody, or anything from getting inside.  If people want to leave, they can but they won’t be able to get back inside until I remove the spell.”

“Don’t you think that I can protect this castle with our knights and guards?”

“I have no doubt that you can, but I don’t trust this person and who knows what he may send this way while I’m gone. Don’t worry, the spell will be like a giant dome over the castle, nothing will get in by land or air.”

Stiles let go of Derek’s hand and went to stand in the center of the courtyard.  Derek watched as Stiles closed his eyes and started to mumble something and then he lifted the staff and slammed the bottom of it down on the ground.  When he did this a beam of light shot out from the crystal and exploded into the shape of dome that covered the entire castle and the lower village as well.  After he did this, Stiles noticed that every window in the castle had faces of everybody inside watching.  He looked up and saw his dad, Allison and Lydia looking down and he could see the look of pride on his father’s face.

“I have to go now” he said to Derek who came down to stand with Stiles.

“I’ll probably wait right here for you because until you return I’m going to be a nervous wreck and it’s best I stay away from people” he said smiling.

“My big beast” Stiles said and kissed him.

“How will you get there?”

“Fly of course, I am a warlock after all” he said and Derek couldn’t help but laugh.

“I love you King Stiles Stilinski-Hale.”

“I love you High King Derek Hale, I always have and I always will.”

With one final passionate kiss Derek took a few steps back and with a wink Stiles spread his arms and shot straight up into the sky.  He turned in the direction of the ruins and flew with such force it created and sonic boom.

 


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Stiles landed in the middle of what used to be a main street in the ruins. He looked around and realized he was in the same exact place he was when he had the vision; the only difference was there was no storm raging.  There were, however, very dark storm clouds which blocked out the sun completely turning the area into night.  He stood there looking around, listening, waiting but it was quiet-too quiet.

He started to get a bad feeling, something wasn’t right and he started to walk around.  The ruins were so overgrown at this point, the only things that could have lived here were animals yet there were none. There were no birds, no deer or squirrels it was like the entire town was completely dead.  He called out several times but there was no sound but the echo of his own voice.   

There wasn’t much left of the town of Beacon Hills so Stiles didn’t have to walk around much because most of the buildings had long fallen and he could see everything and he was completely alone. There was nobody there, no wizard to fight and it dawned on him that this was a trap.  He tried to levitate to fly back but he couldn’t.  He tried using other magic, and that worked fine, he was able to turn a large stone in to rubble, he could pick things up and toss them but he couldn’t get out. He started running in the direction of the castle but when he got to the edge of town he ran into an invisible barrier; he was trapped.  He tried everything he could, every spell that came to mind but he couldn’t get rid of the barrier he couldn’t get out.

Panic started to set in at this point. Stiles cursed himself for being so stupid for falling into this trap. He had put a protection spell around the castle but he didn’t know how long it would last once the other wizard started working to break it down.   He then got an idea, he thought that Lydia might be able to help protect them but then he realized perhaps she could help him escape.  Stiles looked around and found part of a building that was still standing. He carefully went inside and found a room to settle in and then he closed his eyes and concentrated on contacting Lydia.

Lydia was feeling better and she had gotten out of bed and was sitting at the table.  Jackson and Scott were there and they brought food for everybody.

“How are the villagers?” Allison asked.

“A few minor injuries but otherwise they are fine, at least physically.  They are scared about what is going on and keep watching out the windows” Scott said.

“I’m sure seeing Derek pacing out there isn’t helping” John said looking at the window.

“No, it’s obvious he is stressed and everybody can tell but mostly they fear for King Stiles” Jackson said.

“Lydia, are you ok?” Allison asked when Lydia suddenly stopped eating and had this strange look on her face.

She looked around the room, “do any of you hear that?” she asked and they all looked at each other.

“No, we can’t hear anything” Jackson said.

“Lydia what is it your hearing?” asked Allison

“A voice, it’s distant and a whisper but I can definitely hear it.”

“What is it saying?” Scott asked.

“It keeps saying my name over and over again.” Lydia’s eyes got big suddenly, “it’s Stiles” she said.

“DEREK, GET IN HERE” John yelled out the window and Derek ran back inside.

“What’s wrong?” Derek asked looking at everybody.

“It’s Lydia; she says she is hearing Stiles calling her name.”

“What? Where is he? Is he….”

He was cut off when Lydia shushed all of them trying to hear. She finally closed her eyes and took a deep breath, “I hear you Stiles” she said quietly while the others waited.

_“Oh Lydia, thank God. I’ve made a mistake. I thought he wanted to meet me in the ruins of Beacon Hills but it was a trap. I can’t get out.”_

“What do you mean you can’t get out?” Hearing Lydia say this suddenly got everybody’s attention. She continued to sit at the table with her eyes closed, communicating with Stiles.

_“I can perform magic but there is some kind of spell around the area. I can’t fly and when I tried to leave on foot, I ran into and invisible barrier.  I’ll need you to either find a way to get me out of here or you’re going to have to protect the castle. I put a spell of protection around it but what if he can break through?”_

“Ok are you someplace safe?   
_“Yes, I’m in some building, I think it used to be a school, but there is nothing here. It is completely deserted”_

“Stay where you are, I’m going to try something and if it works, somebody may show up to help you.”

_“What do you mean, who will show up?  Lydia don’t send Derek or any of the knights, they’ll be trapped here with me and if he is going to attack, it is better to have them there.”_

“I am not sending anybody from here, just sit tight.”

“Where, is he, what’s going on?” Derek asked.

“It was a trap, he is in Beacon Hills, or what is left of it but this other wizard put a spell around the place that King Stiles can’t get out of.  He is able to perform magic but he can’t fly out of there and he can’t break the spell. He tried to leave on foot and that is when he realized he was trapped.”

“We’ll we go in and get him” said Jackson.

“No you can’t, you’ll be trapped there as well and he specifically told me not to send any of you because if there is an attack you all need to be here to fight.”

“But Stiles put a spell of protection around the enter castle” Derek said.

“I know, but he is not sure if it will hold if the other wizard tries to break through it.”

“Lydia, you said sending somebody to help him, what did you mean?” John finally asked.

“I’ve read about these celestial type beings known as Guardians.  They are, for lack of a better term, the Guardians of the magical realm.  It is my understanding that any witch or wizard can call upon them in a time of need, especially more powerful witches and wizards.”

“But wait a minute, if these beings are real then why didn’t any of the others call upon them for help in stopping this one wizard?” Derek asked.

“All of us born with the mark are all magical; the problem is most of us never know it.  King Stiles never knew anything and probably never would have if I hadn’t said anything to him.  As for why the others never called out to the Guardians, not all of us are powerful enough to this.  To be honest with you, I’m not sure I am strong enough to call upon them but I’m willing to give it try.”

“But something happened when Stiles grabbed the staff and he seemed to know all he needed to know” said John.

“Yes, all the magical abilities inside of him that he never knew he had were awakened. He knows spells he never read about, he knows what spells do what and when to use certain ones but knowledge of the Guardians is not something he would have found out about and if he doesn’t know about them, he can’t call upon them.”

There was a knock on the door and Scott went to open it.  It was Danny, “Sire, there is an army massing to the west” he said.

“Gather up all the guards, prepare for battle but don’t run out to face them” Derek said and Danny looked at him.

“King Stiles put a spell of protection around the castle, we can go out but we can’t get back in and hopefully it is strong enough to keep them out for now.  But just in case, make the necessary preparations.”

“Yes Your Majesty” Danny said and left.

“Maybe you and your knights should do what you do” John said and Derek, Scott and Jackson looked at him.

“What, you didn’t think I knew?  You don’t think everything living within the walls of the castle don’t already know about you and your knights?”

“No…I didn’t think anybody knew?”

“Derek, many people were present when that witch put her curse on you when your mother was pregnant. My wife and I happened to be here because there was a festival taking place at the time. Most of the kingdom was here and knew about it.  It wasn’t long after you were born that people started to talk about seeing you and your father going into the woods at night and they realized quickly that it was only on the nights there was a full moon.  Not to mention the sounds people would hear coming from the woods on those nights, they put two and two together quickly. Not that you thought your subjects were dumb, but I pretty much can guarantee that if you went down to the throne room and changed, nobody would be afraid.”

“Son of a bitch” Jackson said and laughed and eventually Scott and Derek couldn’t help but laugh as well.

“Well since what I thought was a huge secret isn’t a secret I guess there is no need to worry but if needed, we will do what is necessary.”

***

Stiles waited, waiting to see what Lydia was going to do, who she was going to send.  As he waited he was full of emotions. He was mad at himself being so stupid to fall of this trap, he was afraid for Derek and the Kingdom and he was sad because what if he never saw any of them again.  He wanted to rant and rave, he wanted to use all the magic he felt inside of him to unleash hell on Earth but he suddenly felt very tired and weak.  He leaned against a wall and slowly sank down to the floor.  It hit him suddenly, he was fighting to keep his eyes open but then he saw something.

He looked up and saw light coming from outside the room he was in and he took a tight hold of the staff. He was feeling exhausted but he had to be prepared to fight and then she walked in and smiled at him.

“Hello Stiles” she said in a voice that seemed to chase all of his fears away.  He didn’t respond he was too busy staring at her.  She was glowing with bright light, but it didn’t hurt his eyes to look at her.  She was tall and extremely beautiful.  She smiled at him and suddenly everything seemed all better.

“Did Lydia send you?”

“No, but she did try to summon me.  I was planning to come to you anyway because we’ve been watching you Stiles your entire life.”

“Who are you?”

“My name is Zen and I am one of the Guardians.  You see like you and your husband King Derek rule over your kingdom, my brothers and sister and I rule over all things magical.”

“I’ve made a mistake, I fell for his lies and he’s trapped me here.”

“No Stiles you are not trapped, you just didn’t stop to really think about it.  Magic is about balance, what is done can be un-done.”

“What did you mean when you said you’ve been watching me my entire life?” Stiles knew he shouldn’t be sitting here having a conversation when his kingdom was in danger, but there was something about Zen, something that told him not to worry and that everything would be alright.

“You, like Lydia and the others you saw in your dreams, were all born with magical abilities.  Lydia for example, her magic is best used in healing the sick.  Some are better and calming down an angry mob just by their presence among them, but you Stiles you were born with amazing powers, you just never knew it until now.”

“Well I apparently was not the only one?”

“No you were the only one; you see all powerful wizards like yourself are only born every couple of hundred years.”

“Well the wizard that killed the others and trapped me here seems pretty powerful.”

“He’s not actually. You see he, like so many others, was born with magic but nothing all that powerful. Unfortunately he turned to black magic and learned how to steal magic from the others which makes you different from him.  You see his magic is in his head by what he has learned and stolen, but with you Stiles it is in your heart.  You are kind and loving and devoted both to your father, your husband and your people.  In other words, you are a white wizard symbolizing all that is good where as he is a black wizard symbolizing all that is evil.  You are his exact opposite.”

“Well he must be better than me in some way because he tricked me and trapped me here.”

Zen just smiled and put out her hand. Stiles took it and she helped him up and took him outside.

“You remember what I just said about being opposites?  Well think for a minute, what did you do before you left to come here?”

“I put a protection spell around the castle.”

“Yes you did, and how does that spell work?”

“Well I told Derek people could leave but….”  He stopped there when it suddenly dawned on him.

“People could leave but they couldn’t get back in so the spell here is you can get in but you can’t get out?”

Zen just smiled and nodded her head. “Another clue is look at the sky, completely opposite of the sky above your kingdom.  There it was clear and sunny; here it is dark and overcast.”

“So all I need to do is reverse my spell?”  
“No, just use the opposite spell that you used.  The spell around your castle can only be broken when you pass through it so doing the opposite here will not remove it.”

“Zen, may I ask you something?”

“Of course?”

“If you’ve been watching me all my life and you reign of all that is magical, then why didn’t you try to stop him?”

“I know there was great loss at letting him continue with what he was doing, but it was the only way to bring you out, to get you to realize your potential.  I needed his opposite to come to life.”

“I see it’s just sad that the others had to die for all this to happen.”

“Stiles, when you saw them in the dream realm, they weren’t really dying, at least not in the sense that you are thinking.  Their magic was being drained; it was making them weak that is why they appeared transparent.  When they completely disappeared from the dream realm it just meant all their magic was gone but their human bodies were still alive.  Sadly they did eventually die because he never took their life force from them.  Do you remember when you were here, with Lydia? And all those little lights entered your body?”

“Yes, it was strange.”

“Those lights were the life force of those he stole from.  They entered you to give you strength and protection.  There was still a little magic in them and they willing gave it to you to help you.”

Stiles just looked at her, a lump in his throat and his eyes welling up with tears.  He was shocked that people that he didn’t really know, and who didn’t really know him, did such a selfless act for him.

“I never knew their names” he finally said quietly.

“And they didn’t know yours but they knew you were the one.  They wanted their revenge and they knew you were the one to stop him.  After he is defeated you’ll see those lights leave your body, but don’t worry it won’t make you weak or change anything about your abilities. Think of them as a little extra boost to get you going.”

“Thank you Zen, will I see you again?”  
“If you really need me call me but always know that I am around and am watching” she said and then she caressed his cheek and faded away.

***

All along the walls, atop the towers and in the courtyard, King Derek, his Knights and all the guards were fully dressed and ready for battle.  Allison was atop a tower with all the arrows she could carry, John and all above villagers were also given weapons and Lydia sat by reading the book, trying to find spells that could help if needed.

The army that had amassed to the west consisted of nothing but marauders and they were waiting, for what not everybody was sure of, but most had a feeling it was the dark wizard.  Derek had spread the word about Stiles gifts and the spell placed around the entire castle so the people knew not to leave.  All they could do was wait and see what happened.  They heard Lydia gasp and turned to look at her and she was smiling, “he’s free, King Stiles is free and coming back” she said and there was collective feeling of excitement, but it didn’t last long.

Dark storm clouds started to appear out of nowhere and soon they saw him, the dark wizard hovering above the castle.  He had a wicked grin on his face and he made a motion with his hands that caused several bolts of lightning to strike at once.  The spell held but some people thought they heard cracking noises.  The dark wizard laughed and again more lightning bolts struck.  As he kept it up, the bolts were getting stronger as the cracking sound kept getting louder and the ground was shaking. 

Lydia ran out into the open and raised her hands and started mumbling a spell, what she was saying nobody knew but when the next strike came, it didn’t seem as strong.  “I think she is strengthening the Kings spell” Jackson said to Derek who seemed to agree.

“You really think you can stand against me witch” the wizard yelled and then laughed.

“No but I can” a voice said and everybody turned to see King Stiles floating above them and everybody cheered.  

“No, it’s not possible” the dark wizard said unable to hide the fear in his voice.

The people below watched as Stiles walked across the sky like he was walking on the ground and in a flash he raised his arms and all the dark clouds were sucked into the crystal in his staff.

“You think that will stop me” he said and he sent lightning bolts from his hands right at Stiles who wave the staff sending the bolts right back at the dark wizard.  He just managed to get out of the way, but Stiles was fast because he sent more bolts which hit their target sending him flying back.  Stiles never spoke; nobody saw his lips move and the werewolves never heard him speak to cast his spell. He just continued to slowly walk towards the dark wizard.

When he regained himself, he went on the attack again but again Stiles was too fast and struck first hitting the dark wizard and sending him crashing to the ground.  Stiles landed and walked towards him, the army of marauders was close by yet they did nothing.  As Stiles got closer, he realized that the dark wizard was crying and he got a better look at him, he wasn’t much older than Stiles, if he had to guess he was probably younger. 

Stiles felt bad, he was just a young man who was confused and drunk with power, “what is your name?” he asked.

“Alan” the young man said, wiping tears from his eyes.  “I’m sorry; I just wanted to be somebody special, somebody people would pay attention to. I was always ignored, overlooked by my parents and brothers.”

“You were born with a gift Alan, you didn’t need to do all of this to make yourself noticed or special, and you already were special.”

It was all Alan needed, just to get to Stiles to drop his guard. With one swift movement of his hand Stiles was sent flying back until he slammed into a tree and fell to the ground unconscious.  Derek growled and went to go help but John grabbed him.

“You may be a werewolf, but once you go out you can’t get back in and he will kill you.”

“But Stiles…”

“Stiles is my son, I’ve known him all his life.  He is my only child Derek and the fact that I don’t look worried should tell you something.”  He was right, he didn’t look worried at all and Derek didn’t understand that until he heard screaming.  They turned to look to see the dark wizard burning and Stiles just standing there watching.

“You see, he was faking it” John said as Derek changed back and John let go of his arm.

Stiles turned to look at the army Alan had amassed, “five, four, three, two…” they all turned at quickly ran away at that point.

“Run faster” he shouted as he started shooting lightning bolts at them and they started running much faster while everybody at the castle just laughed and applauded.  Stiles turned and looked up the road that leads all the way up to the courtyard and all he saw was Derek standing there.  He smiled and started walking towards him and the moment he passed through the barrier of the spell it broke, just like Zen said it would.

Derek started walking towards Stiles, their eyes locked on each other and when they met Stiles jumped up into Derek’s arms and they kissed.

They returned to the courtyard hand in hand and everybody cheered King Stiles. He was about to say something but had the wind knocked out of him when his father grabbed him and hugged the life out of him and Stiles just laughed, hugging his dad just as tight.

He saw Lydia and walked over to her, “how are you?”

“Much better Sire” she said.

“I met the Guardian and she told me you were trying to contact her but your magic is not strong enough but she was already coming to see me anyway.  She told me that your magic is strongest with healing the sick and wounded and I am proof of that.  So if my husband doesn’t mind, I am actually going to perform my first official duty as a King.  You, my dear, will now be known as Lady Lydia, the official court physician.”

“Oh thank you Sire” she said and bowed.  Stiles looked at Derek who just smiled his approval.

“Where is your sister?”

“She is up on that tower.”

Stiles looked up to see Allison smiling down at him and without even thinking he just started to walk up to the tower.  People gasped and watched as it looked like he was climbing an invisible set of stairs. When he reached the top of the tower and put his arm around Allison, “hold tight” he said and before she could protest he had them flying down to the ground. 

She buried her face into this chest and almost cracked his ribs she was holding him so tight. It hurt but Stiles couldn’t help but laugh.

“With all due respect Sire, please don’t EVER do that again” she said and Stiles laughed harder as did several other people.

“As my second official duty as King, I hereby award you the title of Lady Allison, Captain of the Guard.”

Allison’s face fell, she didn’t know what to say at first but she eventually said thank you and bowed.

“Now if I am not mistaken weren’t we having a celebration before we were rudely interrupted?”

Stiles motioned for those standing there to get out of the way and he raised his staff but stopped when he saw a tiny ball of light leave his hand.  The others saw it as well and looked worried but Stiles just smiled and then more and more of them started to leave his body.  Some people were afraid and backed away but Stiles just smiled and when all the lights had left they hovered in front of him.

“Thank you, all of you for your sacrifice and help, please go and be at peace” he said.   After he said that the lights all flew away and vanished.

“Stiles, what was that?” Derek asked.

He turned to look at Lydia when he answered, “You know all those that were fading away?  Well we thought they were dying but they weren’t they were just fading because their magic was being drained. Their bodies were still alive, but eventually they did die and when I found you in the dream, in the ruins, all those lights were their life force which still contained some magic.  They entered my body to help me defeat the dark wizard, to help them avenge their deaths and now that it is over, they left to be with the Guardians.”

“Are you going to be ok son?”

“Yea dad, I was told it wouldn’t affect my abilities because I was born with what I can do, but before I get into details there is something I need to do first.”  

He again raised his staff and slowly moved it from one side to the other and as he did, the tables returned to the courtyard, the fire was going and food was cooking.

“Come only, let’s start this party over again” he shouted and everybody started to get food and sit and eat.

Stiles eventually stood up and told everybody the story of how he found out he had magical abilities and what happened to him while he was trapped in the ruins.  He was also surprised to find out that everybody already knew about Derek and his knights and he couldn’t help but laugh.

Eventually nighttime came and everybody went home and once he and Derek were alone in their room he waved the staff and Derek found his wrists and ankles tied to the four corners of the bed.

“You know I am an alpha werewolf and without even shifting, I can break free.”

“Yes, and yet there you are, naked, aroused and not even trying” Stiles said as he climbed onto the bed and started kissing his way up Derek’s legs.

“Stiles, is this going to be a regular thing?”

“No, sometimes I’ll be tied to the bed” he said before taking Derek’s member into this mouth.

Word quickly spread of the events that took place in the Kingdom of Beacon Hills and knowing the things that King Stiles was capable of doing prevented anybody from even thinking of trying to attack the castle.

 

THIS TIME THEY REALLY DID LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER

THE END.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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